On the edge of the town of Craven Arms in Shropshire, England, this moated structure was constructed during the 13th-century by a rich wool merchant known as Laurence of Ludlow. Laurence also obtained a license from the king to fortify the manor house by crenelating the walls as a means of protection against marauding Welsh…
The author’s book of poetry about Malinda Russell, Grimoire, was published in September 2020. From the moment I held the reprint of Mrs. Malinda Russell’s A Domestic Cookbook: Containing A Careful Selection of Useful Receipts for the Kitchen, I was smitten. The 39-page volume is the first known cookbook written by a Black woman: Russell…
Ōya stone is an igneous green tuff renowned for its warm texture and flexibility, famously used by Frank Lloyd Wright to build the Imperial Hotel in Tokyo. It was the same material used to create the Venus of Gyoza and is a specialty of Utsunomiya City, quarried in its namesake town of Ōya. Read moreA Guide to…
COVID-19 has struck many major industries hard, but the toll the virus has taken on cinemas is impossible to ignore. The financial ruin facing many large chains, like AMC and Cineworld, is well-documented, but our arthouses, independent cinemas, and local theater chains have been left to scramble. Faced with major revenue loss, most of these…
Shortly after Greece won independence from the Ottomans, the need to start organized commerce arose quickly. With Nafplio operating as the capital of the new Hellenic State, a new customs house was determined to be a high priority. A facility was constructed to handle the higher level of traffic then entering the port. Read moreA…
A short ferry ride east of London, a picturesque lawn welcomes visitors to the sprawling grounds of the Maritime Greenwich World Heritage Site. At night, a bright green beam of light projects over the lawn, illuminating the Prime Meridian from the Greenwich Observatory up the hill. Five hundred years ago, this scene looked quite different….
As we approach this season of Thanksgiving, we are finding new ways for families to gather around cooking and enjoying food together. We are pleased to highlight JoAnn Seagren’s virtual meals, complete with enticing recipes, and Giò Crisafulli‘s philosophical musings on a proper mealtime. To ease the stress of not being together physically, Chris Lautenslager suggests a…
★★★★ Directed by #DariusMarder Read moreA Guide to The Perfect Bong Joon-ho MarathonWritten by #DariusMarder Starring #RizAhmed #OliviaCooke Read moreRobert Stack Finally Solves a Mystery in ‘The Strange and Deadly Occurrence’,,Film Review by ,,Hope Madden Riz Ahmed is a guy who can do anything. He can be funny (Four Lions), pathetic (Nightcrawler), tragic (Sisters Brothers),…
It’s difficult to imagine today what colonial, Prussian-era Berlin looked like, as one walks around the city’s central district, now dominated by the block-shaped architecture of the old East Germany. But that’s exactly what activists and community organizers are trying to get people to do, to see Germany as it was when the country was…
A plot device popularized by the likes of Shakespeare and Chaucer, a frame narrative effectively encases a story within another story. Often, a work involving a frame narrative will initially present a certain set of characters, one of whom will proceed to tell an intricate tale that forms the framed narrative. This framed story usually…
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 November 17th, 2020! This week’s…
“Nobody’s allowed to mention it.” An early promo trailer has debuted for a new fan documentary titled A Disturbance in the Force, co-directed by the filmmaker behind the Raiders!: The Story of the Greatest Fan Film Ever Made documentary. This crazy Star Wars doc is about the infamous, unbelievably bad Star Wars Holiday Special from…
Alexander Nanau’s sprawling investigative journalism exposé, Collective follows a team of reporters as they unearth a Romanian healthcare cover-up, sparking a national revolt for government accountability. Over two hours in length, Collective zig-zags through convoluted webs of fraudulent hospital tactics, gag orders, whistleblowers, and evasive corrupt officials — ultimately unearthing corruption rotting at Romania’s core. Known among arthouse…
For Nyoka Hrabinsky, growing up in Queensland, Australia, “bush tucker” was a delicious part of everyday life. Of the native foods that have sustained Aboriginal communities for millennia, “wallaby was my favorite. Swamp turtle was my other favorite,” she says. A member of the Yidindji people, Hrabinsky grew up “on country”—in her community’s traditional land—watching…
In the corner of her house museum in Gori, Georgia, 77-year-old Nazi Stepanishvili sits at a meeting point of the religious and the revolutionary. To her right are images of the Georgian saints, crowned with golden haloes. To her left are portraits of Joseph Stalin, the Georgian-born autocrat who presided over the Soviet Union from…
The Pavillion Le Corbusier owes its existence to one pioneering woman, Heidi Weber. An interior designer, gallery owner, and patron of the arts, Weber commissioned Le Corbusier to create the perfect exhibition venue for her collection of Le Corbusier’s paintings, drawings, tapestries, sculptures, lithographs, and furniture. Le Corbusier designed the building as an architectural legacy…
To enjoy Smuggling Hendrix, a film that’s deeply rooted in the political tensions in Nicosia – the capital city of Cyprus – one doesn’t necessarily need to be abreast of the geopolitical conflicts surrounding the nation. The film’s smart writing by Marios Piperides, who directed his script, seamlessly feeds information to the viewer throughout the…
This car park is situated under the main campus of the University of Melbourne. Proposed in 1970 and constructed in 1971, the car park was created to cope with an increasing demand for parking by students and teachers. Read moreA Guide to The Perfect Bong Joon-ho MarathonThe design of the car park is vastly different…
Late night TV is no laughing matter these days. The standard Colbert/Kimmel/Fallon monologue overflows with partisanship, for starters. It’s hard to be hilarious when you’re stalking one side of the aisle. The laugh lines often come a distant second to the propaganda. Read moreA Guide to The Perfect Bong Joon-ho Marathon Sometimes the hosts aren’t…
Located in the Chihuahuan Desert, the Gila National Forest is home to incredible views of the arid wilderness, desert wildlife, and a unique opportunity to see ancient rock art. The Dragonfly Trail, which is also located in the forest, is also renowned for its breathtaking scenery. However, the area is perhaps most known for the…
In the 1760s, as the Industrial Revolution began to spread throughout Great Britain, there became a greater need for the development of inland transport and trade routes. The United Kingdom became the first country to develop a nationwide canal network, which provided vital connections between cities. The development of the canals and running of the…