One of the standard images in introductory art history classes is Rembrandt’s Syndics of the Cloth Guild, a 17th century portrait of six distinguished gentlemen who shared a common vocation and were proud members of the local guild. In existence since the early days of the Roman Empire, guilds had become the professional refuge of […]
We live in a strange time – a moment when some of our trusted norms and traditions seem to evaporate with the slide of a “mouse” or the flick across a phone screen. Word processing allowed everyone to become a writer – no more laboring with pens, pads, typewriters and carbon paper. Finish the screed […]
There is a freshness every time Allyn Burrows, artistic director of Shakespeare & Company takes to the stage in the crackling moments before the house lights dim, the actors move into place, and with a burst of stage wash, the play begins.
It is Burrows, after all, who welcomes the audience to one of the stages […]
Meeting photographer Tom Zetterstrom in his Canaan, CT, home is instantly reminiscent of encountering Henry David Thoreau’s explanation for why he established a cabin in the woods overlooking Walden Pond and spent over a year of his life among the maples, pines, and elm. “I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately, […]
The film title, “Hope Gap” may be difficult to remember since it refers not to a character, but a place – a cove on the south coast of England near where Grace (Anette Bening) and Edward (Bill Nighy) have lived for most of their 29 year marriage. When son Jamie (Josh O’Connor) is summoned home […]
The Adrenaline Rush.
We’ve all experienced it, for many different reasons, some wonderful and some simply frightening. For skiers, it’s the push off at the top of the mountain and the anticipation of the careening journey to the bottom. For parents, it’s the moment when a daughter or son takes a first attempt at riding a […]
There are moments at the beginning of Autumn de Wilde’s rendition of Jane Austen’s “Emma” when those who have gathered for their latest “Austen fix” may rightly wonder if the engine will ever start … if the whip will ever be cracked and the carriage begin to move. For reasons best known to the first […]
Seberg” is that volatile film combination of fact and fiction that must be taken at face value and enjoyed (or not) for what it is. Yes, the FBI did terrorize actress Jean Seberg for her connections with the Black Panthers, among other radical groups. Yes, she did have an emotionally charged life that led to […]
If you missed the winner of the OSCAR for not only Best Picture, but Best Director and Best International Film (the old “Foreign Language” category), then your chance is back. “Parasite” is playing in wide release, a victory lap of sorts for the richly awarded film by Korean auteur Bong Joon-ho.
Now’s your opportunity to see […]
The very nature of radio broadcasting in the United States has gone through what Shakespeare termed a “sea change” in the 100 years since KDKA in Pittsburgh, PA, took to the airwaves on November 2, 1920 to announce that Warren G. Harding had defeated James D. Cox in