Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr. served on the U.S. Supreme Court when several laws were passed that restricted freedom of speech; this was a time when people spoke against the government and its choice to go to war. For years, the Supreme Court did not defend people’s right to free speech. Then Holmes came up with…
Oliver Wendell Holmes: The ‘Great Dissenter’
Plato’s Allegory of the Cave
And now, I said, let me show in a figure how far our nature is enlightened or unenlightened:—Behold! human beings living in a underground den, which has a mouth open towards the light and reaching all along the den; here they have been from their childhood, and have their legs and necks chained so that…
Do Children Choose Their Parents?
Deb Wise was taking her 4-year-old daughter Katie into town so they could have lunch with Wise’s husband, Dennis. Katie asked if Uncle Tom, a good friend of theirs, would be there. Wise answered yes, and Katie leaned in close to whisper a secret. “He saved my life once,” the girl said. Wise was dumbfounded…
‘The Lusiads’: An Epic Poem Celebrating the Portuguese Nation
The weapons and barons marked, That from the western Lusitana beach, By seas never sailed before. Most Portuguese people know these opening lines of “The Lusiads” (“Os Lusiadas”), a Portuguese epic poem by Luís Vaz de Camões, first published in 1572. Written three years after the poet’s return from India, it narrates Vasco Da Gama’s…
Giovanni Bellini: A Pioneering Renaissance Artist
While a photograph of Giovanni Bellini’s “Portrait of Doge Leonardo Loredan” may give the illusion of a photographed actor in costume rather than a painted portrait; the artwork displays exquisite but restrained beauty. The doge’s robe and face appear to have the realistic textures of silk and skin: The folds in the silk and creases…
Rewind, Review, and Re-Rate: ‘Seven Sweethearts’ from 1942 Tulip Time in Michigan
NR | 1 h 38 min | Drama, Musical | 1942 What represents spring to you? Flowers, bunnies, birds? In Holland, Michigan, an area populated by Dutch immigrants centuries ago, the season of rebirth is heralded by a celebration of tulips. Since 1929, the city of Holland has hosted its annual Tulip Time Festival, welcoming…
Book Review: ‘The Power of Trees: How Ancient Forests Can Save Us if We Let Them’
German forester Peter Wohlleben has had a love affair with trees for decades. Granted, many of his observations come from study and research done in his native Germany. His keen insights have captured the interest and imagination of scientists, scholars, environmentalists, students, and anyone passionate about our natural world, specifically that of the world’s forests….
Marie de’ Medici and the Continuation of the Medici Family Art Patronage
Of all the masterpieces in the Louvre, none has a more appropriate home than the 24 paintings glorifying the life and reign of Marie de’ Medici, Queen of France. Painted by Flemish painter Peter Paul Rubens, the series known as the “Marie de’ Medici Cycle” (1622–1625), are among the greatest artistic achievements of their age….
Explainer: Music and the Hierarchy of Experience
Consider these two sets of English words: “My cat Gracie has thick gray fur and a cold wet nose.” “Gracie fur My thick has cold and nose gray cat a wet.” The first group is a standard sentence conveying information about a cat with thick gray hair named “Gracie” who belongs to me and has…
Film Review: ‘River’: Wonderment, Naval-Gazing, and Ecological Flummery
NR | 1h 15min | Documentary, Nature | 22 April 2023 (USA/Australia) Try as it might to be a newfangled attempt to warn viewers to the perils of mankind’s collective assault on the global ecosystem, the gorgeously shot but narratively bereft documentary “River” is a narrative train wreck. It achieves little beyond reminding general audiences why art house posturing and tree-hugging…
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