Tag: Arts & Culture

Epoch Watchlist: What to Watch for May 12–18

This week, we feature a surprisingly hopeful film about a burned-out wrestler and a ’50s disaster film that set the template for the genre. New Release ‘Master Gardener’ Narvel Roth (Joel Edgerton) is a man with a mysterious past who steadfastly looks after the sprawling environs of well-off dowager Norma Haverhill (Sigourney Weaver). When he…


Epoch Booklist: Recommended Reading for May 12–18

This week, we feature an urban planner’s engaging guide to building on Mars and a suspenseful novel about eight strangers who meet one fateful day. Fiction ‘The Time Has Come’ By Will Leitch This is contemporary fiction that takes place in Athens, Georgia. The specific setting is a beloved pharmacy—Lindbergh’s—that’s reminiscent of nostalgic drugstores of…


The Revolutionary War General Who Coined New Hampshire’s Motto, ‘Live Free or Die’

In the wilderness of New Hampshire within miles of his home, John Stark, a young frontiersman in the 1700s, was taken captive by a party of Native Americans. He was with three friends, one of whom was killed and scalped. His older brother, William, managed to escape thanks to some quick maneuvering, but John and…


Pinky MacArthur: Behind the Great General, Stood a Great Woman

Good mothers encourage their children, guide them when they face trials, and when necessary, gently push them to strive for excellence. Even after the kids enter college or join the workforce, Mom is just a phone call away, ready to offer advice or a shoulder to cry on. “Life doesn’t come with a manual,” the…


Ed Sheeran Victory: Songwriters Are Not Piggybanks

Ed Sheeran was cleared in court of copyright infringement that the estate of Marvin Gaye alleged. The song in question is Sheeran’s 2014 hit “Thinking Out Loud” and whether it had too much similarity to the 1973 Marvin Gaye and Ed Townsend’s hit, “Let’s Get It On.” The victory is significant not only for Sheeran…


Film Review: ‘STILL: A Michael J. Fox Movie’: A Profile of Courage

R | 1h 35min | Documentary, Docudrama, Biography | 12 May 2023 (USA) In 1991 while shooting “Doc Hollywood,” actor Michael J. Fox was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease, a currently incurable degenerative chronic nerve disorder which results in physical tremors, slowness of movement, rigidity, difficulty with speech, and, eventually dementia. It is an ugly, cruel, and relentless disorder that generally starts…


Book Review: ‘The Lost Diary of George Washington: The Revolutionary War Years’

George Washington kept a diary throughout his life except for a break during the bulk of the war years. When he resumed his diary in May of 1781, his first entry expressed his regret that he had not kept to this daily discipline during the most crucial years in the nation’s fight for independence. Inspired…


St. Francis of Assisi: The Art of Prayer and Devotion

Around 1635, Spanish artist Francisco de Zurbarán painted “Saint Francis in Meditation,” a striking life-size portrait of Francis kneeling in prayer and gazing up to God in adoration.  Zurbarán made Francis’s faith palpable by painting Francis the man, without the fanfare of his miracles. Francis wears the habit worn by the friars of the Capuchin…


Book Review: ‘Afghanistan 1979–88: Soviet Air Power Against the Mujahideen’

The aftermath of America’s disastrous and tragic withdrawal from Afghanistan in the summer of 2021 can never be forgotten. It is too cataclysmic to forget. But it should not be remembered solely because of what took place when the Americans left. What should be remembered, and it is arguable that this is more important, is…


Myths and Legends Forged on the Shores of Gallipoli

Commentary Another ANZAC Day (April 25) already fades into memory as I contemplate its powerful influence not only on our Australian history but on a much broader stage. When I was a boy in the late 1950s and early 1960s, I used to watch the Sydney parade every year, from start to finish. I must…