I’ve been reading and listening to many reviews of the Nolan film The Odyssey. The spread of opinions is extremely wide – everything from a great masterpiece to a piece of horse manure, with plenty in-between. The film is doing … Continue reading →
For a nice palate change, I bring you this biography of Tommy Rall, one of the greatest cinema dancers and a real natural. He also was an excellent singer (even of opera) and painter. Enjoy:
Continue reading →Congress may be about to make Daylight Savings Time the permanent time in the US, rather than shifting back and forth seasonally between Standard and DST. The seasonal shifting is annoying to many people, but the change would pit the … Continue reading →
Singer Bonnie Tyler died at 75 on July 8. She had one of the most distinctive and instantly recognizable voices in pop music, with a rasp (the result of a vocal cord operation) that had the hint of desperation that … Continue reading →
I’m having a quiet day, just a couple of people over for dinner. I plan to make hot dogs – something I don’t eat all that often but that I love – barbecued chicken, potato salad, and plum cake with … Continue reading →
I had major Wifi connectivity problems today and had to finish and publish the previous post on my cellphone. That’s a far-from-ideal situation and quite frustrating. But all seems well now. Usually the connection here is pretty strong and pretty … Continue reading →
David Hockney has died at the age of 88: Over a seven-decade career, Hockney explored and reimagined classical portraiture, landscape painting and pop art, working in painting, collage, photography and digital drawing. Hockney was born in the north of England … Continue reading →
Here’s an interesting piece on the phenomenon of late fame. Robert Graboyes concentrates on music: Johann Sebastian Bach is one of history’s three greatest composers (along with Beethoven and Mozart), but his fame didn’t really blossom until the mid-19th century—75 … Continue reading →
One of the first blog posts I ever wrote was this one in January of 2005, entitled, “The fine art of insulting half your audience.” Here’s an excerpt: It happens nearly every time. I’ll be reading a short story, let’s … Continue reading →
This happened [my emphasis]: A mountain lion forced residents of Santa Monica and their tiny pets indoors as officials scoured the area for the apex predator. The Santa Monica Police Department descended on the residential area of 14th and Montana … Continue reading →
First, a bit of background (if you’re unfamiliar with the story of the Andes crash, there may be a few spoilers here). I first read the definitive book on the subject, Alive, when it came out in 1974. I was … Continue reading →
I just learned that tomorrow is the 573rd anniversary of the fall of Constantinople. The Byzantine Empire was no more, and the great city was now in the hands of the Ottoman Empire, as a result of military conquest after … Continue reading →