Daily Archives: December 27, 2021

We live in strange times. Consumer goods are flying off the shelves faster than ever, yet an entire generation of young people are stricken with anxiety and depression. While Elon Musk is the richest person in the history of the world, so many are struggling to just barely get by. And while the stock market hits all-time highs, small businesses are shutting down left and right.

In this period of simultaneous excess yet existential struggle, it is worth revisiting perhaps the greatest song ever written about the duality of the American experience and the human condition: Hotel California by The Eagles.

What was the original inspiration for Hotel California?

It all started with Glenn Frey wanting to do something strange, just to see if he and the band could. So they turned to a hazy and nightmarish novel written by John Fowles in 1965, called The Magus, where a depressive yet eager young wanderer with nothing finds himself charmed by a wealthy Greek recluse whose powers of splendor and decadence end up detaching the young man from reality as he knows it, resulting in tragedy and loss.

The same novel is said to have inspired David Finchers 1997 film starring Michael Douglas, The Game.

So what is the true meaning of Hotel California?

The same narrative arc found in The Magus, going from sincere idealism and earnest curiosity to a sense of darkness and despondence, runs parallel to so much. Like coming of age and the loss of innocence. Or the sparkling allure of golden age Californias dashing but dangerous lifestyle of cash and drugs. Or the energetically revolutionary but eventually fleeting spirit of the 1960s. And maybe even the entire American experience.

You start with nothing. It all looks so good! Then you get everything. And you get crushed under the weight of everythings excess. What was it all for to begin with?

So Hotel California is a sort of broad allegory for rising and falling? Maybe.

Here is what the band members themselves have said about the songs meaning:

The band members themselves have offered a variety of different explanations for the meaning of Hotel California. Theyve said its a socio-political statement. Theyve said its about darkness and light. And theyve said its about the self-destruction that comes from greed and hedonism.

But of course, all of those things are hard to put your finger right on. And maybe that is why the song has been interpreted in so many different ways over the years. When art so perfectly reflects the experience of life, it can be about everything and one specific thing at the same time, depending on the consumer of the art. Like a sort of lyrical Rorschach test.

The songs true meaning, like life itself, is elusive. And maybe that is exactly the point.

What does Hotel California have to say about modern times?

Even if the exact meaning of Hotel California is subject to some degree of individual interpretation, there are certain themes deeply imbued in the song. Chief among them is the danger of excess.

California. America. Rock and Roll. The 1960s. Even The Eagles themselves. All have suffered from excess in some way, whether it be drugs, wealth, success, and even a desire for change.

As it is today, we find ourselves locked in a time of extremes. No middle ground. No moderation.

If Hotel California has anything to tell us about modern times, maybe its that we need to take things down a notch. Dont get too high and dont get too low. Focus on the little things in life. The things that matter most.

See original here:

Revisiting the Meaning of the Eagles' Hotel California as We Head Into 2022 - American Songwriter

The Lorax (Jan. 6)

If you talk to a parent of young children, you will likely not hear much affection for Illumination Studios, the purveyors of some of the laziest, sloppiest and most obnoxious childrens entertainment around. (Sing 2, in theaters now! New Minions movie next summer!) The studios two best films are most likely its adaptations of Dr. Seuss books unsurprising, as his texts provide such fertile material for animators. This 2012 animated take on Seusss 1971 environmental fable gets a big boost from Danny DeVitos robust vocal performance as the title character; this is an actor whose voice was built for cartoons, and he makes his Lorax into a showstopping creation.

Stream it here.

Its not hard to make fun of the Twilight Saga (five films total, all leaving Netflix mid-month): Plenty of people have, from lazy film critics to hacky stand-up comics to smarmy YouTube hosts. And, to be clear, these are not great works of cinema; the plotting is silly, the tone is all over the place, and performances are uneven. But there are virtues as well: solid filmmaking (especially this first outing, from the Thirteen director, Catherine Hardwicke); a rare dramatization of budding female sexuality; and most of all, the power the series success gave its stars, Kristen Stewart and Robert Pattinson, to make whatever weird art movies they wanted afterward. Did you enjoy The Lighthouse, Personal Shopper, Spencer, or Good Time? Thank Twilight.

Stream it here.

This 2013 effort from Sofia Coppola effort plays like a culmination of all of her previous work: the celebrity satire of Lost in Translation, the hedonism of Marie Antoinette and the California alienation of Somewhere, stirred into a soup with the real-life story of four young Hollywood hangers-on who supplemented their party lifestyle by burglarizing the homes of famous people. A lesser filmmaker could have turned this story into a broad, dumb comedy or a stern lecture about the morals of todays fallen youth. Coppola goes in another direction, capturing the glitz and glamour of this sleek world and its shiny surfaces before exposing the emptiness underneath.Stream it here.

The writer David Mitchell has been a key collaborator of the Wachowski siblings in recent years, working with them on their Netflix series Sense8 and co-writing Lana Wachowskis recent The Matrix Resurrections. But they first worked together less directly, co-writing and co-directing (with the Run Lola Run filmmaker Tom Tykwer) this 2012 adaptation of Mitchells vast novel Cloud Atlas. Its an ambitious piece of work, combining multiple narratives across time and space and placing its main cast (including Tom Hanks, Halle Berry and Hugh Grant) in multiple roles. It doesnt all work, but its such a big swing that its hard not to fall under its spell.

Stream it here.

Clint Eastwood was in a rough spot as a filmmaker in the early 2000s after several years of turning forgotten best-sellers like True Crime and Blood Work into forgettable movies. But he struck gold in 2003 with his adaptation of Mystic River, a Boston crime novel by Dennis Lehane, which netted Oscars for Sean Penn and Tim Robbins. They star, along with Kevin Bacon, as friends since childhood who have dealt with a shared trauma in wildly different ways, and Mystic River expertly folds together its present-day and flashback timelines to reveal how the pain of the past is never far away.

Stream it here.

Go here to see the original:

Stream These 9 Titles Before They Leave Netflix in January - The New York Times

Hedonism has been in short supply in recent times, so it's little wonder that so many are yearning for the party palaces of Ibiza, Dubai or Hollywood. Here's hoping the 2022 is the year when people can really let their hair down once and for all.

For spotting celebs in the bar, getting that perfect poolside Insta snap, or simply dressing up to the nines and hitting the nearby nightclubs, few places can beat these four glamorous hangouts.

Best for: Rocknroll vibes

This cool, low-key hotel, just off Sunset Boulevard, is THE place to sight A-listers. Celebs have been known to hang out by the discreet rooftop pool, which has comfy loungers (perfect for posing), a buzzy bar and views over the whole of La La Land. Our room was enormous big enough for an after-party with a dramatic black living room area, rocknroll music posters and guitars on the walls, along with a bar trolley and giant gold hand-shaped chair. The highlight, though, is its location in Los Angeless most star-studded neighbourhood, a stones throw from the citys most iconic nightclubs, including The Viper Room (once part-owned by Johnny Depp) and Whisky-a-Go-Go, which has live music: glam-rock band LA Guns are playing on New Years Eve.

Stella loves: The staff full of local knowledge and recommendations, whether you want to know the coolest live music that evening or the best bagel store.

Out and about: Its a 10-minute stroll (or two-minute Uber no one walks here) to members club Soho House West Hollywood, which is the place (if youre a member, of course) to soak up the city: all slouchy sofas, excellent cocktails, beautiful people and a buzzy vibe (sohohouse.com). If you still havent spotted enough stars, join a Celebrity Bike Tour, a gently paced 10-mile ride (easier still if you upgrade to an electric bike) that takes you past Rodeo Drive, Paul Smiths Pink Wall, and homes of the rich and famous, led by a charismatic actor-guide (from 55 per person, bikesandhikesla.com). Stock up on reading material for the flight home at local indie bookshop, Book Soup, which has great recommendations from knowledgeable staff and regular live reading events (booksoup.com). And for more ideas for New Years Eve parties, see visithollywood.com

How to do it: Rooms from 215 a night; montrosewesthollywood.com. Read the full expert review here

View original post here:

Four fabulous party hotels to put the sparkle into 2022 - Telegraph.co.uk

MONICA KAYOMBO, Lusaka

SINCE Covid-19 came to the fore in 2020, it has managed to change lives of many people across the globe; the pandemic has thus compelled many people to make adjustments in life. As we start 2022 in a few days, we expect to see more changes because of the pandemic whose duration on mother earth is unknown. Marian Salzman, a globally recognised trendsetter and communicator recently had a virtual meeting dubbed: What we thought we knew, where she predicted 22 trends for the year 2022. She highlighted some of the changes expected to take place in 2022 due to Covid-19 and shared some ideas on how best to cope with the fresh challenges. She said 2021 definitely made many people question lots of things they had taken for granted before Covid-19 stormed. The population has remained divided on economic and political lines while conspiracy theories have become the order of the day. Ms Salzman said in 2020, the pandemic sparked a great research in which the countries were headed and people started re-setting their priorities as they were presented to adjust with the new environment. Without listing all the 22 trends for 2022 as predicted by Ms Salzman, I will restrict myself to the following topics: mental health and wellness, the skills squad, the roaring 2020s post Covid-19 muted hedonism, change agents, meet cohesion cultivators and social inequalities. On mental health and wellness, she said as the world gets used to mental illness, time is ripe for widespread adoption of programmes, tools, technologies that tackle anxiety and depression. She said rates of substance abuse, alcohol dependency, and suicidal thoughts and behaviors now known as diseases of despair made headlines. Of course, the local and international media has reported on how the pandemic has brought about anxiety, un ease and un certainty among citizens of various countries across the world. Ms Salzman recommends that people need to accept the complexities and new norms. She said some multi-national companies such as Bristol Myers Squibb, Philip Morris International (PMI), and Whirlpool Corporation had put in place support systems for their workers, including employee resource groups (ERGs) that foster diverse and inclusive workplaces and create a closer feeling of community. This innovation by the above named companies reminded me of our Zambian scenario where most people lost their jobs and no companies put in place support systems such as ERGs. Hope some Zambian companies will soon consider some of these innovations. On the skills squad, Ms Salzman said people all over the world have been investing in formal education to get ahead. Of course, this is also the case with many Zambians that have decided to go back to school to advance their studies in various disciplines. The question Ms Salzman asked is: how many tertiary institutions equip students with up-to-the-minute skills they can apply right away at work, how many people are finding that the skills they do have are outdated or not in demand, how many are facing the prospect of being replaced by robots or artificial intelligence? The answer she gave is that virtually, all information is now available to anybody with an internet connection, knowledge about will become less valuable, while knowing how they will become more highly prized and priced. On hedonism, she simply stated that the last time the entire planet was hit by a deadly virus was a century ago when the 1918-1919 influenza pandemic killed an estimated 50 million people. The doom and gloom of that pandemic gave way to a period known as the Roaring 20s when exciting new technologies such as cars, radios, gramophones went mainstream and seeded a new economy and a new culture full of exuberant energy. Equally, the world is shaping up to emerge from the dreary lockdowns and restrictions of COVID-19. New technologies are going mainstream like zoom, augmented virtual reality, crypto currencies among others giving rise to new fortunes and cultures. On change agents, she said they will still have a role in the post-pandemic world. These people are no less valuable but another type of catalyst will also be in high demand. As organizations and employees experiment with infinite permutations of hybrid working, cohesion cultivators will bring the scattered parts together in new and fruitful ways either from within the organization or as external consultants, she said. On social inequalities, Ms Salzman said after decades of just accepting the way things are, the public is getting increasingly more sensitized to inequities and less willing to tolerate them. This is going to shape political, social, and even corporate developments. Her statement reminded me of the topical issue where African countries have started lobbying for patent to locally manufacture their own Covid-19 vaccines and other essential drugs. Ms Salzman has also estimated that the future of schools will be hybrid, online and offline. With global education and training expenditure forecast to reach at least $10 trillion by 2030, there are plenty of incentives to find winning approaches. In conclusion, she said Covid-19 has helped her to gain back the four hours; she has more time with her family and the development has enabled her acquire more knowledge and hands-on skills. I am operating in my timea COVID-born phenomenon that has enabled many of us to work to our natural biorhythms throughout 24-hour cycles, at intervals when we are at our most productive, creative, and receptive, she said. As we continue battling with Covid-19, let us learn one or two things from Ms Salzmans catalogue of trends to adapt to the new environment.

See the rest here:

Expected trends in 2022 amid COVID-19 Zambia Daily Mail - Zambia Daily Mail