Monthly Archives: January 2013
Noble Father, Treacherous Son: An Ever-Timely Admonition
Born 5 January 1592 – Shah Jahan, Mughal emperor of India (1628-58). Nearly everyone knows that Shah Jahan built the Taj Mahal as a memorial to his beloved wife Mumtaz Mahal, but fewer people are aware of the tragic fate … Continue reading
Starry, Starry Night
5 January 1834 – In their tribal lore the Kiowa Indians call this date “the night the stars fell.” In the words of ethnographer James Mooney, the Kiowa were awakened by a burst of light, and “running out from the … Continue reading
Rose Red and Monk Dead: The Art of Umberto Eco
“I felt like poisoning a monk.” – Umberto Eco, Italian essayist, philosopher, literary critic, and novelist, explaining why he wrote “The Name of the Rose” (1980). Some quotes from Umberto Eco: “But now I have come to believe that the … Continue reading
Clowning Around With Our Republic
5 January 1959 – The live children’s program “Bozo the Clown” premieres on WHDH-TV in Boston. Today, however, most of America’s clowns perform on C-Span.
Wishing Robert Duvall A Happy Birthday . . .
with gratitude for his many great performances. “Today, everything has to be made by committee, and has to have special effects, but there’s always room for good films.” – Robert Duvall, American actor and recipient of the 1983 Academy Award … Continue reading
Painting with Words, Painting with Ink: The Art of Gao Xingjian
“The human species does not necessarily move in stages from progress to progress … history and civilization do not advance in tandem. From the stagnation of Medieval Europe to the decline and chaos in recent times on the mainland of … Continue reading
The River, The Sea, and the Time-Tolling Bell: A Brief Tribute to T.S. Eliot
“We shall not cease from exploration, and the end of all our exploring will be to arrive where we started and know the place for the first time.” – Thomas Stearns Eliot, playwright, literary and social critic, one of the … Continue reading