Franco Zeffirelli died Saturday at the venerable age of 96. But to me, he was and always will be the director of the 1968 film “Romeo and Juliet,” a movie that breathed extraordinary life into Shakespeare. The sweep, color, costumes, … Continue reading →
It’s not possible yet, but they’re working on it: Progress toward making “artificial gametes” has been accelerating. In Japan, mice were born from eggs scientists had manufactured in a dish from a tail cell. Chinese scientists later claimed they had … Continue reading →
…but one thing I can say about it is that it’s certainly different. I also love the guy’s accent.
Continue reading →In the dance of the little swans thread, commenter “Paul in Boston” asked: What’s the step where they all jump in the air together and “clap” their feet 4 times. How do they do that? I’ll let these pictures (videos) … Continue reading →
The dance of the little swans (“cygnets”) from the ballet “Swan Lake” is famous for its precision. It’s not one of those great moments in ballet artistry, but it’s a triumph of technique and synchrony among the four swans who … Continue reading →
I watched the first two episodes of “Game of Thrones” many years ago at the urging of someone near and dear to me. But I begged off after that. For me, the whole thing was way way WAY too violent, … Continue reading →
Once you watch a YouTube video on a certain topic, YouTube keeps suggesting more. And more. And sometimes I follow their lead—such as recently, with videos of Gwen Verdon that kept coming up following my writing this post about her. … Continue reading →
Doris Day died yesterday at the age of 97. Day was all sunshine, and her singing voice was velvet. She was mocked by some for being so all-fired wholesome, but she was a great entertainer in several genres and made … Continue reading →
A while back we had a Great Musicals Debate here in which commenter Richard Saunders wrote, in response to my saying that I much prefer the original stage version of “Guys and Dolls” to the Brando/Sinatra film version: Neo — … Continue reading →
Amateurs, doing what they love, having fun for the love of it. Apparently they learned that in four hours. Oh heck, I’ll throw this in too. Very schmaltzy, but good schmaltzy (the backstory is worth watching, but if you want … Continue reading →
Maybe it doesn’t even matter which it is, because the impulse is the same whether it’s supposedly religious or supposedly secular/leftist: to destroy history and its representations and replace them with the new orthodoxy. The deeper motive is to indoctrinate … Continue reading →
Commenter “AesopFan” and some others have called my attention to this song parodist, Don Caron. Funny stuff. Unfortunately, it will take more than the Mueller report to drive a stake through collusion’s heart, and the obstruction vampire is alive and … Continue reading →