The great ballet dancer Galina Ulanova specialized in the more human roles in the ballet repertory, such as Juliet in “Romeo and Juliet” and the title role in “Giselle.” Becoming the Swan Queen Odette, who was under a spell and … Continue reading →
Take a look. No one could run like Ulanova, and no one even comes close now. Same for her bourrées, which are those quick and tiny steps all on pointe that make it seem as though the dancer is skimming … Continue reading →
Okay, so it’s long. An hour and a half long. You can speed it up by changing the settings (as I often do with interviews), but there’s no getting around the fact that, even then, it’ll be long. Of course, … Continue reading →
An interesting take from Stephen Green, probably the best one I’ve seen so far: By his own admission, Adams was using “hyperbole” to make his point. There are just two problems with that. The first is that his targets weren’t … Continue reading →
Although Welch was 82 when she died, somehow the news is still a surprise. Everybody of a certain age – and even some who are younger – knows that poster with the famous deerskin bikini. It was her body – … Continue reading →
[NOTE: I’ve been working on a big long post today but finally abandoned it for now because I just need to take my mind off ugly, depressing things. So I’ve pivoted to this one.] “Swan Lake” is one of those … Continue reading →
The perfect statue for our times. Is it “a big old dong“? Is it a turd, or the portion of the anatomy from which a turd might emanate? Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. But it’s hard to … Continue reading →
He was the oldest pope in 275 years, the first pope to resign in about 700 years, and the first German pope in about 1000 years. More about his long and eventful life can be found here. He was known … Continue reading →
And he graduated from law school a long long time before wokery took over. And yet, he writes this: Elon Musk and his enablers have turned this website into a torrent of ad hominem attacks, lies floated as jokes, and … Continue reading →
I’ve always liked the work of Jorge Luis Borges. His writing isn’t to everyone’s taste, but it is to mine. I was reminded of Borges the other evening when I did a search for “science fiction stories about immortals” and … Continue reading →
[NOTE: Two days ago I wrote a post on the over-the-top fearmongering of Michael Beschloss, who has written a number of books on presidential history and who is often described as a “presidential historian.” That reminded me that shortly after … Continue reading →
If so, that was quick. See this: In six short weeks, Liz Truss has succeeded in angering all wings of her party. Most now agree she can’t fight the next election. Britain’s latest prime minister, who won a Tory leadership … Continue reading →