Fergus Falls State Hospital in Fergus Falls, Minnesota

Fergus Falls State Hospital in Fergus Falls, Minnesota

When Minnesota’s first state hospitals in St. Peter and Rochester became woefully overcrowded, it was clear that another facility was needed to meet the needs of the state’s growing population. Fergus Falls State Hospital opened in 1890, and it’s expansive campus was quickly filled.   Read moreA Guide to The Perfect Bong Joon-ho MarathonThe building…

Holland’s ‘Cherry’ Missing One Vital Ingredient

Holland’s ‘Cherry’ Missing One Vital Ingredient

It’s maddening to think “Cherry” gives us two-plus hours to spend with its main character, but we’re still not sure what makes him tick. Directors Anthony and Joe Russo bring buckets of style to their biggest post-“Avengers” project. The results are mixed, to say the least, but we’re given all the proof needed that Tom…

Monument to Paul Keres in Narva, Estonia

Monument to Paul Keres in Narva, Estonia

This unusual sculpture composed of bronze was constructed to commemorate the 100th birthday of Paul Keres. Keres, a local legend in the Estonian city of Narva, was one of the top chess players in the world, a career that spanned from the mid-1930s to the 1960s. In 1950, Keres was awarded the title of International…

How Boise, Idaho, Became a Sanctuary for Refugees and Their Cuisine

How Boise, Idaho, Became a Sanctuary for Refugees and Their Cuisine

When Salam Bunyan and his wife, Aseel, opened their Mediterranean restaurant, Tarbush Kitchen, in Boise’s Central Bench neighborhood in late 2019, the Iraqi couple already had a loyal customer base. That’s because the Bunyans, who arrived in Idaho as refugees 11 years earlier, had been in the food business before: First in 2014, as purveyors…

MONKEY BARS: A Sidling, Unsettling Step Away From Girlhood

MONKEY BARS: A Sidling, Unsettling Step Away From Girlhood

Teenage years are tough. Every generation has its own take on what it means to be a teenager and while many films are usually filled with dreamy, rockin’ nostalgia of that rite of passage where you transition from kid to what you think is an adult, oftentimes it can just be a near-nightmare you’ve yet…

Tay Nguyen Biological Museum in Thành phố Đà Lạt, Vietnam

Tay Nguyen Biological Museum in Thành phố Đà Lạt, Vietnam

This museum is only advertised on a small billboard one a highway that leads to a much more famous tourist destination in Da Lat, Lang Biang Mountain. Read moreA Guide to The Perfect Bong Joon-ho MarathonDown a dirt road and past the Institute of Scientific Research, one will eventually come across a small building where…

The Annotated Table of Contents for Women Writers Week 2021

The Annotated Table of Contents for Women Writers Week 2021

In honor of Women’s History Month, I am happy to present the dynamic female writers for Women Writers Week 2021. We have been featuring their articles and reviews all week, and wanted to acquaint you with each of them in this annotated table of contents. Here are our featured writers in alphabetical order, accompanied by links to…

Ohaguro Ditch Wall Ruins in Tokyo, Japan

Ohaguro Ditch Wall Ruins in Tokyo, Japan

Yoshiwara was an infamous red-light district of Edo (today’s Tokyo) that flourished between the 17th and 19th-centuries, extending for around 16 acres during its heyday. A place of extreme extravagance and decadence, the samurai of the Edo period frequented this area seeking romance that was, to quote a contemporaneous expression, “fleeting as a bubble.” Read moreA…

Five Unforgettable Rising Actresses of 2020

Five Unforgettable Rising Actresses of 2020

This longest-ever Oscar season has been blessed with an abundance of female newcomers in front of the camera. In fact, I have seen comments saying that the actresses who are likely to compete for a spot on the ballot have outshined many of the actors who are deemed to be in contention. Read moreA Guide to…

Why Are Women Dissed and Dismissed in the Film Industry?

Why Are Women Dissed and Dismissed in the Film Industry?

I’m an advocate of great cinematic art, but particularly cinema created by women. Women have a sense of storytelling that is unpretentious and unwavering with a sensitivity that sometimes lacks from our male counterparts. Alice Guy-Blaché is a name I’m sure was mentioned during my studies at Howard University, but somehow it escaped me. Guy-Blaché,…

Interview with Jennifer Cooney and Tracy Wren of RAIN BEAU’S END

Interview with Jennifer Cooney and Tracy Wren of RAIN BEAU’S END

Rain Beau’s End is a film released this year about misunderstandings and acceptance. A lesbian couple adopt a son, Beau, and struggle with his diagnosis of an XYY chromosomal mutation which supposedly leads to violence in men. Beau’s mothers struggle with this diagnosis, which deeply impacts their relationships — both with each other and with…

The U.S. Government Is Begging You to Destroy Moss Balls

The U.S. Government Is Begging You to Destroy Moss Balls

There are several ways to wreck a moss ball. You might not want to, at first, because they’re quite charming, as far as aquarium accessories go—vivid green and damply hairy, like a Muppet that’s been through the wash. But if you choose to be merciless, you can pick from several modes of attack. You could…

The Photographer Who Reimagined the Darkness of the Underground Railroad

The Photographer Who Reimagined the Darkness of the Underground Railroad

When photographer Dawoud Bey stood with his camera, overlooking the waters of Lake Erie in northeastern Ohio, he felt something unexpected. The acclaimed artist had been working on a project to reimagine the history of the Underground Railroad through shooting the imaginary point of view of a fugitive enslaved person moving through the landscape. Due…

ONE PIECE Got Me Through This Year

ONE PIECE Got Me Through This Year

One of the funnier, and more overlooked, things about art is how much timing plays a part in our enjoyment of it. Depending on where we are at the moment — from specific moods, phases of our lives, or even a time as trivial as what time in the day it is — we can…

The Columnist – Film Review

The Columnist – Film Review

★★★ Directed by: #IvoVanAart Read moreA Guide to The Perfect Bong Joon-ho MarathonWritten by: #DaanWindhorst Starring: #GenieDeGroot, #KatjaHerbers, #ReinHofman, #BramVanDerKelen, #AchrafKoutet Read moreRobert Stack Finally Solves a Mystery in ‘The Strange and Deadly Occurrence’Film Review by Taryll Baker Columnist and author Femke is flooded with anonymous nasty messages and death threats on social media. One…

Prambanan in Kecamatan Prambanan, Indonesia

Prambanan in Kecamatan Prambanan, Indonesia

According to the records, the first temple in Prambanan was built around the year 850. It is believed that Rakai Pikatan, king of the Sanjaya dynasty Medang Kingdom, had it built partly as a Hindu response to the nearby Buddhist Borobudur, and partly as a marker to commemorate the return of the Sanjaya dynasty to…

Fox Island Nature Preserve in Fort Wayne, Indiana

Fox Island Nature Preserve in Fort Wayne, Indiana

Nearly 300 acres of forest and wetlands make up this peaceful nature preserve on the outskirts of Fort Wayne, Indiana. The calm forests and open meadows are perfect for a fun family hike or picnic. Read moreA Guide to The Perfect Bong Joon-ho MarathonMarshes and swamps border a dune that developed more than 10,000 years…

Andrew Klavan: Conservatives Are Fighting Back at Long Last

Andrew Klavan: Conservatives Are Fighting Back at Long Last

Andrew Klavan got the oddest looks whenever he’d warn friends and strangers about the looming culture wars. “We’ve lost this country at the movies,” Klavan recalls saying to bemused reactions, at best. “I had to laugh so I wouldn’t cry. They were looking at me like I was cute. What on earth was I talking…

DEAR COMRADES: A Political Moment, Filtered And Paved

DEAR COMRADES: A Political Moment, Filtered And Paved

In an interview with Deadline, director Andrei Konchalovsky spoke about how his main actress in Dear Comrades!, Julia Vysotskaya, was born in Novocherkassk a decade after the movie’s central massacre took place, giving her an indirectly personal relationship to the material. Konchalovsky prides himself on authentic historical representation and this was but one example of his…