Henry Threadgill's music might best be described by the name of his band: Very Very Circus. His circus of sound combines traditional jazz instruments with strings, accordions, and tubas, and integrates influences from Mexico, Asia, Europe, and elsewhere. Out of this eccentric multiplicity emerges an

Collage, Composed, Contemporary/downtown, Eclectic, Layered, Polychromatic, Sophisticated

Betsey Johnson was always cool. All the It-girls of the mid-1960s sported her clothes: Twiggy draped them across her bony shoulders, while Julie Christie, Brigitte Bardot, and Raquel Welch filled the flashy duds out. Johnson designed for the definitive '60s boutique Paraphernalia, recruiting as her m

Cartoonish, Ebullient, Kaleidoscopic, Perverse, Playful, Polychromatic, Sexy, Urban, Urban chic, Vibrant color, Wise assy, Witty

Five months after "The God of Small Things" hit the stands, Arundhati Roy took the stage and accepted Britain's most prestigious literary honor, the Booker Prize. This was a day of multiple firsts: not only was Roy the first non-expatriate Indian author to take home the award, she also was the first

Lush, Playful, Polychromatic, Post-colonial literature, Sensual

One of America's most critically acclaimed filmmakers for more than 20 years, Scorsese has won worldwide plaudits with a body of work that is informed by his Italian-American Catholic upbringing. As a young man, Scorsese decided to enter the priesthood, but dropped out of seminary after his first yea

Open-ended, Polychromatic, Surreal, Tense