The People's Cube - Political Satire

When I heard that my ex-secret boyfriend* & Putin pal Valery Gergiev was bringing his St. Petersburg band back to Ann Arbor's Hill Auditorium (my favorite place to snuggle with him in the dressing room), of course I bought a ticket.

Because 1# the great Kirov Mariinsky orchestra is not to be missed, 2# we will be hearing music by the degenerate Shostakovich, and it is important to know degenerate music so you know when to denounce it and 3# we are still on good terms, I having introduced him to his paradoxical (as you shall see below) secret boyfriend.

And when I learned that many capitalist Ann Arborites are using the excuse of the Ukrainian troubles to protest this great Russian celebration, I smiled in amusement, at first. But as I read along, I realized that the LGBT community will be there protesting. Our comrades in liberalism!! Dissing the motherland!!! Why?

It turns out that my ex S. B. has been going around supporting Mr. Putin and his laws against gay people "proselytizing"....proselytizing in this sense to include teaching children, purchasing food other than during hours of darkness, going outside and breathing. Now, I don't know why this law has been enforced by Mr. Putin. But of course he had a reason!

Remember the time when the great Communist Pete Seeger was performing all sorts of pro-war songs in the 30s, encouraging America to get behind the fight against fascism...and then all American Communists were informed one day they had to speak well of the new Soviet Nazi pact, and that they better not say anything about the fact that Moscow was ever an enemy to the Nazis? Poor Pete had to run around New York City, pulling his own folk albums off the shelves. That was a time we were reminded that the great leader of Russia knows better than we do why up is up one day and down the next, and eventually it won't matter.

So I'm sure one day I will be able to keep the two thoughts, "LGBT people are more equal than others!" and "Gays are degenerates" in my mind at the same time without too much strain.

But in the meantime, my brain hurts...I think I need a Jiffy Lobo!

*because he didn't know

I've always wanted to know what brand of toothpicks Valery uses as conducting batons.

Comrade Ivanovna,

Might this be the universal answer to all perplexing questions of double-think?

“We (the protesters) believe Mr. Gergiev is not an appropriate candidate to receive an award from UMS for three reasons: first, he's voiced his support for Putin's aggressive policy toward neighboring countries like Georgia and Ukraine; second, he's hostile to the LGBT community; and third, he's known to make anti-American statements in Russia, but then he still comes here when he thinks he can make some money,” said Bodarenko.

In Putin's Russia, politics engages in you!

That's right, in Putin's Russia artistic celebrities ensure their personal comfort and well-being by supporting the regime and maintaining friendly ties with the Kremlin. In case they forget, they are being regularly reminded that their loved ones' comfort, well-being, and career advancement are also directly correlated with this celebrity's support of the regime. The celebrities aren't monsters, they care about their families.

There's an insightful 1936 novel "Mephisto" by Klaus Mann (and also a decent 1981 German-Hungarian film adaptation starring Klaus Maria Brandauer), in which a small-time but not talentless actor figures out how to make a stellar artistic career by collaborating with the Nazi regime and promoting Hitler's agenda. That history is now repeating itself in Russia.

Wait! Russia has a talentless actor who collaborates with the Kremlin and promotes Putin's agenda?

Where is our talentless actor?

Red Square wrote:In Putin's Russia, politics engages in you!

That's right, in Putin's Russia artistic celebrities ensure their personal comfort and well-being by supporting the regime and maintaining friendly ties with the Kremlin. In case they forget, they are being regularly reminded that their loved ones' comfort, well-being, and career advancement are also directly correlated with this celebrity's support of the regime. The celebrities aren't monsters, they care about their families.

Crony thespianism?

Hammer and Loupe wrote:Wait! Russia has a talentless actor who collaborates with the Kremlin and promotes Putin's agenda?

Where is our talentless actor?

I think his name is Michael Moore, Comrade.

Dearest Kelly Ivanovna,

Last night I had a dream, which I often do when I wake up late at night and go back to sleep.

In it, I dreamed of a famous person, who I will not mention, who I met as a matter of course. He told me how he and his wife wrote a book telling us all how when you meet a person, they can look like the most gorgeous person you would ever want to meet and, then, they will appear to be the most ugly slob in the universe in the very next week.

I, myself have appeared very beautiful and at other times, a horse-faced ugly girl.

Am I alone? I don't think so.

Finally, after becoming a Cube member, I found the person who truly loves me for who I am, which encompasses all of these things.

It's not about appearance (and I still look good), it's about character and substance. My soulmate knows this. It's wonderful.

It can be done!

Dedhedvedev wrote:I've always wanted to know what brand of toothpicks Valery uses as conducting batons.

OMG he TOTALLY used a toothpick on Saturday!!!!! Either a toothpack or a baton that was about 2 inches long. I've seen him conduct a gazillion times and use just his hands before, but I'd never seen the mystical toothpick.

Sorry for the many progs off. I just can't figure out to say these things funny. So I did go to the concert. I conc luded, maybe erroneously, that an artist can be viewed and enjoyed apart from his politics. You know, Woody Allen, Jerry Lee Lewis, etc...

There weren't very many protestors. They were polite, and seemed to be very well acquainted with the facts. I hadn't realized, or I"d forgotten, that Gergiev along with many other celebrities actually signed an open letter to Putin thanking him for the invasion of Ukraine. That's like Woody Allen and Jerry Lee Lewis being spokespersons for pedophilia or incest organizations.

I took the pamphlet they were handing out, brought up a point that I disagreed with on it, and that was that.

In the meantime, Pamalinsky, your point about beauty/ugliness was personified on the stage. He looked awful (some awful in Gergiev is sexy, this much was not). And he looked bored as crap, even while conducting his supposedly favorite orchestra.

Lastly, I was prevented by an American group of mobsters from talking with him afterward backstage. I saw other people standing there so I opened the door from the back door...then I noticed the group of "fans" I'd seen from outside included no women. Hmmm. Probably not fans. Then one of them asked if he could help me...."I'm just waiting for an autograph," I said. With a flurry that would have been nice to see Gergiev make during the concert, he approached me and said "You need to leave!" I did, quickly, quietly glad I'd decided to leave the machete at home....

I've seen him with a few Russian bodyguards but this was about 10 American guys in addition to the couple I recognized from before.

So he's getting death threats, I presume. Would never say he deserves them, but when ya get this involved in politics, it shouldn't surprise you.

Well, Kelly, we both know that toothpicks are not good conductors of anything. They are not metal and can only be used to prop things up or hold things together, like roll-ups in cooking.

I, too, love Russian composers. One of my favorites is Prokofiev Piano Concerto No. 3 in C. Vadym Kholdenko, a Ukranian, won the Van Cliburn contest a couple of years ago. I did send this to Oleg. He loved it. Alas, they, for some unknown reason, have taken that performance video down. This guy, Kholdenko, is one badass in this performance. So intense and so uplifting. Maybe they will bring it back.

After searching for the Prokofiev, this is all I could find.

https://www.npr.org/blogs/deceptivecadence/2013/06/10/189511177/ukrainian-wins-top-prize-at-van-cliburn-piano-competition

Kisses!

Red Square wrote:In Putin's Russia, politics engages in you!

That's right, in Putin's Russia artistic celebrities ensure their personal comfort and well-being by supporting the regime and maintaining friendly ties with the Kremlin. In case they forget, they are being regularly reminded that their loved ones' comfort, well-being, and career advancement are also directly correlated with this celebrity's support of the regime. The celebrities aren't monsters, they care about their families.

There's an insightful 1936 novel "Mephisto" by Klaus Mann (and also a decent 1981 German-Hungarian film adaptation starring Klaus Maria Brandauer), in which a small-time but not talentless actor figures out how to make a stellar artistic career by collaborating with the Nazi regime and promoting Hitler's agenda. That history is now repeating itself in Russia.

Boss, I saw the second paragraph of your post before I saw the first paragraph. This could be true in Gergiev's case...that he's facing threats to his career or to his family's welfare (he does have 3 youngsters and a wife who will outlive him by several decades) if he doesn't very visibly support the regime. It might explain his apparent preoccupied condition and lack of real energy during the performance.

On the other hand, he having already attained the title of God [Chief Conductor, Artistic Director, Head of Quality Assurance (eg, personal and complete examination of female ballet candidates on the couch in his office), among other roles] at the Kirov under Yeltsin, it's hard to imagine he and artists with that profile...if there are any... not having the power and connections to ensure their safety.

But that would be if he were living in a normal western country, I suppose. I cede to your knowledge and experience of the culture.

Mikhail Lysenkomann wrote:

Hammer and Loupe wrote:Wait! Russia has a talentless actor who collaborates with the Kremlin and promotes Putin's agenda?

Where is our talentless actor?

I think his name is Michael Moore, Comrade.

But worse than the talentless oversized amoebae (or Jabba-the-Huts) such as Michael Moore are the beautiful and talented people who nevertheless so desperately crave being perceived as "progressive" that they just can't stop themselves from glomming onto icons of "progressive" power. Michael Moore has finally made it obvious to even LIVs that he's a contemptible person, so the greater damage is done by the talented but insecure airheads like Paltrow, etc., ad naseum, who glom onto Obama, Hillary, etc., ad naseum.




--KOOK