Arts & Life

Gourmands Through The Ages: 'A History Of Food In 100 Recipes'

editor — Thu, 20 Jun 2013 06:56:00 +0000

Think our current culture has become food-obsessed? Take a look at this wall painting from ancient Egypt.

Long before Food Network, before Michael Pollan, before pop-up restaurants, humans were taking the time to enshrine the art of cooking.

From Classic Toys To New Twists, Kids Go Back To Blocks

Neda Ulaby — Wed, 19 Jun 2013 19:15:00 +0000

I visited Toy Fair in New York City hunting for ideas for our summer series about kids' culture. One of the big takeaways was the increasing popularity of construction games such as Legos. Sales shot up nearly 20 percent last year. Now, it seems, every major toy manufacturer is scrambling to add new games geared toward kids building things.

Concurrently, I happened to visit the National Building Museum, where an impressive exhibition, PLAY WORK BUILD, showcases the museum's vast collection of block sets and building toys.

'The Watchers' Have Had Their Eyes On Us For Years

editor — Wed, 19 Jun 2013 19:07:00 +0000

The revelations about secret National Security Agency programs, leaked by Edward Snowden earlier this month, have stirred great controversy, but this type of surveillance is not entirely new, according to journalist Shane Harris.

In his 2010 book, The Watchers: The Rise of America's Surveillance State, Harris traced the evolution of these surveillance programs in the U.S.

He says that as the digital age advanced, the NSA reached a crossroads and realized that analog tactics like phone tapping were quickly becoming obsolete: There was a whole new world of digital information to be

The Art Of Life: Claes Oldenburg At MOMA

Lloyd Schwartz — Wed, 19 Jun 2013 16:40:00 +0000

The sculptor Claes Oldenburg was born in Stockholm but grew up in Chicago, went to Yale and came to New York in 1956, where he became a key player in the pop art movement — the major counter-reaction to the abstract expressionism that dominated the 1950s. So much for art history.

Although Oldenburg is a serious artist, probably no artist in history ever created works that were more fun.

The Martini: This American Cocktail May Have An International Twist

April Fulton — Wed, 19 Jun 2013 15:50:00 +0000

There's no cocktail more distinctly American than the martini. It's strong, sophisticated and sexy. It's everything we hope to project while ordering one.

Baltimore-born satirist H.L. Mencken is said to have called the martini "the only American invention as perfect as the sonnet." But is the martini perfectly American? Maybe not entirely.

So in honor of National Martini Day on Wednesday, we decided to dig into the drink's muddled past.

The history of the martini is a murky one.

The 25 Movies To Which 'World War Z' Is A Sequel, Probably

Linda Holmes — Wed, 19 Jun 2013 14:03:00 +0000

World War A (in which Isaac Newton is bonked on the head and still bravely figures out gravity)

World War B (spun off from a VH1 reality show)

World War C (in which two dudes hit each other with cellos for 2.5 hours)

World War D (part of The Great Report Card Skirmish Of 1998)

World War-E (in which a tiny robot rolls around and watches Hello Dolly and then smashes the doubloons out of everything in sight)

World War F (the [bleep]ing best war ever)

World War G (gorilla versus giraffes versus gerbils versus guine

Bait And Twitch: Vice Magazine, Suicide Glamour, And Not Staying Quiet

Linda Holmes — Wed, 19 Jun 2013 12:47:00 +0000

This week, Vice magazine unveiled a fashion spread featuring images based on famous female writers who killed themselves.

Book News: Kim Jong Un Reportedly Gave 'Mein Kampf' As Gifts

editor — Wed, 19 Jun 2013 11:58:00 +0000

The daily lowdown on books, publishing, and the occasional author behaving badly.

Kim Jong Un gave top officials in North Korea copies of Adolf Hitler's autobiography, Mein Kampf, as gifts on his birthday last January, according to a report in New Focus International, a newspaper written largely by North Korean defectors. It seems the book was intended to promote a study of Hitler's economic reforms, and was not necessarily meant as an endorsement of Nazism.

Huntsville Opening 2 Entertainment Districts

The Associated Press — Wed, 19 Jun 2013 11:26:33 +0000

The city of Huntsville is trying to spice up life in its downtown area with a pair of new entertainment districts.

   Promoters are planning a Thursday launch for the new areas, where restaurant and bar patrons will be able to purchase alcohol to-go and then stroll the streets at night.

   The goal is to have area that includes street performers, outdoor movies, art demonstrations and more.

   City officials say they'll review operations and make possible adjustments to the areas' boundaries and rules after 90 days.

A Family's Secrets And Sorrows Surface In 'Heatwave'

Heller McAlpin — Wed, 19 Jun 2013 11:03:00 +0000

British writer Maggie O'Farrell, born in Northern Ireland, is less well-known in the U.S. than she should be. Her mesmerizing, tautly plotted novels often revolve around long-standing, ugly family secrets and feature nonconformist women who rebel against their strict Irish Catholic upbringing. Her most recent books, The Vanishing Act of Esme Lennox (2006) and The Hand That First Held Mine (2010), offer the sort of spellbinding reads that can make you miss your flight announcement.

I nearly missed my subway stop while immersed in Instructions for a Heatwave.

The Art Of Investing: The Rewards Aren't Always Financial

Uri Berliner — Wed, 19 Jun 2013 07:17:00 +0000

NPR's Uri Berliner is taking $5,000 of his own savings and putting it to work.

Stalking The Elusive, Worthy Apricot

editor — Wed, 19 Jun 2013 04:13:00 +0000
Apricots are the finest of summer's fruits, with dense, juicy flesh and delicate, velvety skins. Piled in baskets in farmers market stalls, they seem to glow in the early morning light. The prettiest ones have a celestial blush and a sweet, floral fragrance.
That's why it is so disheartening when you bite into one only to find it is mealy and flavorless. I can't count the number of times this apricot lover has been the victim of just such an injustice. You probably have been, too.
I grew up eating apricots by the kilo during summers spent in Italy.

Change Is On The Horizon For London's Famous Skyline

editor — Tue, 18 Jun 2013 21:38:00 +0000
Cities are defined by their skylines — while Paris is composed mostly of low-rise apartment buildings, New York is a city of tall office towers. But London is a city in transition.

In NYC, A Play Festival Spotlights Stories Of Disability

Mark Blankenship — Tue, 18 Jun 2013 19:41:00 +0000
Ike Schambelan doesn't like thinking about disability, and he's guessing you don't either.
"We hate it. We do not want to see it," he says. "Personally, I want to see it least in myself, second in my wife, third in my cat and fourth in you and all others. I don't want to know about it. I want to be in a total state of denial about it as much as I can be."
But discomfort with disability shouldn't mean shunting disabled people to the shadows.

A Rare Titanic Family: The Caldwells’ Story of Survival

Student Assistant — Tue, 18 Jun 2013 17:50:12 +0000

“A Rare Titanic Family: The Caldwells’ Story of Survival”
Author: Julie Hedgepeth Williams
Publisher: NewSouth Books
Pages: 194
Price: $21.95 (paper)