Last night was the opening of the controversial opera “The Death of Klinghoffer” at New York’s Lincoln Center. It was marked by protests: Demonstrators, primarily associated with Jewish groups, plan to rally outside Lincoln Center with 100 wheelchairs, in honor … Continue reading →
I’m not much of a Streisand fan. She’s just not all that much to my taste, but I recognize her outstanding talent and understand why for many people she’s their favorite singer. I noticed that Yahoo is pushing a video … Continue reading →
Here’s a clip of the finale of Paul Taylor’s “Esplanade,” one of the most beautiful dances I’ve ever seen. I’ve written at length about Taylor before, and about “Esplanade” in particular: If I write that in one of my favorite … Continue reading →
As a response to my recent mosquito post, commenter “cornflour” has sent in a link to the article “Cosmic Karma: Mosquitoes Have Flying, Blood-Sucking Parasites of Their Own”: Although it’s oh-so-satisfying to hear mosquitoes have their own blood-sucking winged pests … Continue reading →
Three years ago I took the test on the “Political Compass” site. This was the result back then, which seemed to place me correctly on the scale: I just took the test again. And although I certainly didn’t remember my … Continue reading →
I’ve never seen the Sistine Chapel in person. The one time I was in Rome, long ago, the Chapel was closed for something or other and no visitors were allowed. Anyway, that was before the controversial restoration that brightened Michaelangelo’s … Continue reading →
In more ways than one. I’ve already described how much I loved the TV show Rescue 911, and why. Those 80s hairdos may look quaint, but the people sporting them are heroes in the truest sense of the word. And … Continue reading →
The WaPo has been reporting on the fact that Obama and his generals are at odds over the conduct of the operation against ISIS. The conflict seems to be heating up (the war against the generals, that is, not the … Continue reading →
[NOTE: I wrote this draft a while back, but never published it. I’m in the mood for some lighter fare today; maybe you are too? So here we go—can’t get much lighter than this.] The Emmys were on TV the … Continue reading →
This is not good news: The Ebola virus is spreading exponentially in Liberia, the World Health Organization said, predicting thousands of new cases there in the coming weeks. The agency said Monday the number of new Liberian cases is moving … Continue reading →
I was raised on the songs of Tom Lehrer. I knew the song “The Elements” from the version appearing on this record, which I had pretty much memorized in childhood (the other songs, that is; “The Elements” went too fast … Continue reading →
I thought Joan Rivers was a funny comedienne, outrageous and bold. But I can’t say I followed her career very closely, or her life. So I was surprised to read, in this warm tribute written by her friend Peggy Noonan, … Continue reading →