Tag: Arts & Culture

Book Review: ‘Crushed: Big Tech’s War on Free Speech’

Monopolies are nothing new in our capitalist economy, but as Colorado Congressman Ken Buck aptly illustrates in his book “Crushed: Big Tech’s War on Free Speech” (“Crushed”), Silicon Valley’s current monopoly is more dangerous than earlier ones. Today’s Big Tech monopoly is both an economic threat and a serious risk to democracy and future innovation….


Yeats’s ‘Adam’s Curse’: The Dignity of Work

For the whole of human history, man has simultaneously shirked from work, sought respite from it, delighted in it, and found it a necessity. Even while seeking to avoid it, he also would not perfectly enjoy a permanent escape from it, for we yearn to achieve something worthwhile and to see that what we have…


Theater Review: ‘New York, New York’: Lots of Heart, but It Tries Too Hard

NEW YORK—On paper, the Broadway musical “New York, New York” has the makings of a sure-fire hit. Yet for all its possibilities, the show has too many storylines shoehorned into what should be a more focused and intimate piece. Inspired by the 1977 film of the same name, the story takes place in New York…


The Glass-Half-Full Poet: Edgar Guest and the American Spirit

Like millions of other immigrants to America, Edgar Albert Guest (1881–1959) worked hard, overcame adversity, made good, and loved the land that gave birth to his dreams and ambitions. He was born in Birmingham, England. In 1891, his mother and father moved the family to Detroit, Michigan. There, at age 11, Guest began working odd…


Book Recommender: A Refreshing Bestseller Saluting the True and Proud History of America

The weighty, 944-page “A Patriot’s History of the United States,” originally published in 2004, has been lauded by mainstream press as “refreshing” in its absence of a political agenda or social rebuke. Numerous pages of research notes and cited sources back up its content, which goes “From Columbus’s Great Discovery to America’s Age of Entitlement,”…


Film Review: ‘Fool’s Paradise’: Day’s Fish-Out-of-Water Filmmaking Debut is an Interesting Misstep

R | 1h 38min | Comedy, Satire, Drama | 12 May 2023 (USA) As inflated and full of itself as it frequently is, Hollywood isn’t beyond occasionally looking into a mirror, realizes just how phony and shallow it appears to the world, and indulges in some hearty self-mocking. Well over 100 movies fit this description and there are only a handful…


Young Boy Prays to God to Take His Life, Receives Huge Response Immediately

In our youth, sleep comes easily. Those precious minutes after our heads hit the pillows and before we drift off to sleep were frequently filled with joyous imaginations and rosy possibilities—”What new excitement will tomorrow bring?” Yet, for one little 8-year-old, each night was just a harbinger of another awful morning to come. One night…


Film Review: ‘BlackBerry’: How BlackBerry’s Hubris Paved Way for iPhone Dominance

R | 1h 59m | Biopic, Dramedy | May 12, 2023 The biopic “BlackBerry” is the story of the rise and fall of the BlackBerry smart phone and it’s titular company, without which you would not be reading this review on your iPhone or Android phone. Doug Fregin played by director Matt Johnson in the tech biopic “BlackBerry.”…


Music Review: ‘Divine Compassion’

“Divine Compassion” is an original work, composed in collaboration by Shen Yun Performing Arts resident composers, Junyi Tan and Yu Deng. Under the baton of Milen Nachev, “Divine Compassion” can be found on Shen Yun Zuo Pin, which is Shen Yun’s new streaming platform. The timpani announces the grand opening played by the entire orchestra….


Miss NTD Global Chinese Beauty Pageant Celebrates Ancient Values

The New Tang Dynasty (NTD) Global Chinese Beauty Pageant combines beauty with a higher purpose through its mission to educate young Chinese women about their heritage. In its first year, the pageant has invited young women from all nations between ages 18-30, who are of at least one-third Chinese origin and fluent in either Mandarin…