A Mystery Leads to Dark Laughter in Our Pick of the Week

A Mystery Leads to Dark Laughter in Our Pick of the Week

Streaming might be the future, but physical media is still the present. It’s also awesome, depending on the title, the label, and the release, so each week we take a look at the new Blu-rays and DVDs making their way into the world. Welcome to this week in Home Video for month date, year! This week’s…

Secrets From Tel Aviv’s ‘Eclectic’ Era Are Hiding All Over the City

Secrets From Tel Aviv’s ‘Eclectic’ Era Are Hiding All Over the City

Some time during the 1920s, poet Hayim Nahman Bialik took an unauthorized shortcut through the grounds of Jacob Gluska’s construction factory. Gluska’s brother caught Bialik on the property and rebuked him. Bialik, an arrogant Tel-Avivian who was also Israel’s national poet, did not appreciate the remark, and they came to blows. In 2009, almost a…

Lerwick Public Sign Snail in Lerwick, Scotland

Lerwick Public Sign Snail in Lerwick, Scotland

Considering that both the Shetland pony and Shetland sheepdog are named their archipelago of origin, it makes perfect sense that they would somewhat be considered its animal symbols. The pony is even featured on Shetland’s coat of arms, while other domesticated animals, such as the Shetland sheep and Shetland duck, can represent the island’s culture….

ATLANTIS: A Post-Apocalyptic Misfire

ATLANTIS: A Post-Apocalyptic Misfire

Ukraine’s submission for Best International Feature Film at the upcoming Academy Awards is Atlantis, a tale of trauma and recovery set in a country attempting to rebuild after being ravaged by war. Written, directed, shot, and edited by filmmaker Valentyn Vasyanovych, the film follows one veteran as he tries to overcome the horrors of the…

‘Gods and Goddesses of Baseball’ in San Francisco, California

‘Gods and Goddesses of Baseball’ in San Francisco, California

“The Gods and Goddesses of Baseball,” was unveiled on Monday, March 26, 2007, at 170 King Street near the Caltrain Station. The work of art is right across the street from Oracle Park, home to the San Francisco Giants baseball team. Attached to a commercial office building and rental apartments, these sculptures are part of…

Faidherbe Bridge in Saint-Louis, Senegal

Faidherbe Bridge in Saint-Louis, Senegal

The town of Saint Louis, set on an island at the mouth of the Senegal River, is a must-see location if you are traveling through Senegal. At the end of the 19th-century when the country was still a French colony, the governor decided that the old bridge composed of 40 floating pontoons needed to be replaced….

The Good, Bad and Bizarre – Four Years of Trump Cinema

The Good, Bad and Bizarre – Four Years of Trump Cinema

There’s no denying Donald Trump dominated Hollywood’s attention span for four straight years. Not only did Tinseltown liberals work on a daily basis to slam him and his supporters, his existence influenced some of the shows and movies produced during his administration. Read moreA Guide to The Perfect Bong Joon-ho MarathonWhile most of those projects…

Xuanwu Lake Park in Nanjing Shi, China

Xuanwu Lake Park in Nanjing Shi, China

Located at the foot of Zhongshan Mountain in Nanjing, Xuanwu is a scenic location near Nanjing railway station. Xuanwu Lake is one of the “Three Great Lakes of Jiangnan,” which contains five islets and was the largest imperial lake garden in China’s history. Read moreA Guide to The Perfect Bong Joon-ho MarathonAccording to legends, Emperor Sun…

The Careful Work of Breathing Life Into the Corpse Flower

The Careful Work of Breathing Life Into the Corpse Flower

This story was originally published on Undark and appears here as part of the Climate Desk collaboration. The alien-like blooms and putrid stench of Amorphophallus titanum, better known as the corpse flower, draw big crowds and media coverage to botanical gardens each year. In 2015, for instance, around 75,000 people visited the Chicago Botanic Garden…

Gilmore Car Museum in Hickory Corners, Michigan

Gilmore Car Museum in Hickory Corners, Michigan

The Gilmore Car Museum is located between Kalamazoo and Grand Rapids, Michigan. It is considered the largest auto museum in North America. The museum was created by Donald S. Gilmore, who began collecting antique automobiles in the 1960s.  Read moreA Guide to The Perfect Bong Joon-ho MarathonThe museum is a must-see for any car enthusiast,…

CW Reboots Walker but Forgets to Give Him a Personality

CW Reboots Walker but Forgets to Give Him a Personality

When CBS created “Walker, Texas Ranger” in the ‘90s, it had a very simple, effective purpose—an action show for conservative America. Most episodes were showcases for star Chuck Norris to show off his martial arts skills, and it had a very black-and-white view of the world in terms of good and evil. It was a…

Interview with James Le Gros, Star of BUCK RUN

Interview with James Le Gros, Star of BUCK RUN

Character actor James Le Gros (Drugstore Cowboy) grizzles his soft-spoken persona for Nick Frangione‘s semi-autobiographical feature, Buck Run. Set in the woodlands of Pennsylvania, the story follows Shaw Templeton (Nolan Lyons) in the wake of his mother’s death. Unable to comprehend the loss, he lives with the corpse for nearly two days before he is sent to live with…

Official US Trailer for Serbian WWII-Set Drama ‘Dara in Jasenovac’

Official US Trailer for Serbian WWII-Set Drama ‘Dara in Jasenovac’

“You can endure it all, my dear Dara.” 101 Studios has debuted an official US trailer for the Serbian WWII drama Dara in Jasenovac, made by acclaimed Yugoslavian filmmaker Predrag Peter Antonijevic. This is Serbia’s official Academy Awards selection for Best International Feature this year. In the summer of 1942, the family of twelve-year-old girl…

Niokolo Koba Park in Senegal

Niokolo Koba Park in Senegal

For visitors traveling through Senegal and desire to catch a glimpse of wildlife in their natural environment, the National Park Niokolo Kobe located in the eastern section of the country is the ideal place to visit.  Read moreA Guide to The Perfect Bong Joon-ho MarathonThe park was established as a reserve in 1925 and was…

Carl Sandburg Home National Historic Site in Flat Rock, North Carolina

Carl Sandburg Home National Historic Site in Flat Rock, North Carolina

Carl Sandburg was a highly accomplished poet and journalist with three Pulitzer Prizes to his name. He was also very active during the Civil Rights Movement. In 1945, Sandburg moved from Michigan to a 265-acre estate in Flat Rock, North Carolina for the weather, solitude, and land for his wife to raise her prized goats….

SPOOR: When The Hunters Become The Hunted

SPOOR: When The Hunters Become The Hunted

Directed by acclaimed filmmaker Agnieszka Holland (Europa, Europa, Mr. Jones) with her daughter Kasia Adamik, Spoor won a Silver Bear at the 2017 Berlin Film Festival and was Poland’s submission for Best Foreign Language Film at the 2018 Academy Awards. That it is only just now becoming available widely in the United States via on-demand…

Denver Critics Hail Sorkin’s ‘Trial of the Chicago 7’ as Year’s Best

Denver Critics Hail Sorkin’s ‘Trial of the Chicago 7’ as Year’s Best

Aaron Sorkin’s cinematic blast from the past just scored another win for Netflix. The streaming giant’s original film “The Trial of the Chicago 7,” written and directed by the “West Wing” creator, earned Best Picture honors from the Denver Film Critics Society. The film also scooped up best Original Screenplay and a Best Supporting Actor…

Newton’s Apple Tree, Trinity College in Cambridge, England

Newton’s Apple Tree, Trinity College in Cambridge, England

Mention the name of Sir Issac Newton and most people will think of the discovery of gravity under an apple tree. However, the actual story has been embellished a bit over the centuries to ferment a narrative that has roots in reality. What few people are aware of is that the aforementioned tree actually exists….

Norchia Necropolis in Viterbo, Italy

Norchia Necropolis in Viterbo, Italy

It’s hard to describe the wilderness and abandonment of this spectacular archaeological site. Norchia was a satellite settlement of the powerful Etruscan city of Tarquinia, which dominated the coast of northern Lazio during the 4th-century CE. Norchia was likely established as one of the city’s outposts inland from the Tyrrhenian Sea, which also crossed several important…