Who is the greatest British writer of all time? According to a 2022 poll of 2,000 Brits, the answer is Jane Austen. While we may debate the correctness of this poll’s conclusion (William Shakespeare, anyone?), what’s beyond question is that Jane Austen remains remarkably popular with British and American readers alike–even 200 years after her…
Manners and Miss Austen: What Jane Austen’s Novels Can Teach Us About the Importance of Custom and Courtesy
Painting the Truth
An international painting competition is more than a place for storied artists to win prizes; it’s one where artists can gain valuable insight from their peers, in an atelier-like setting, just like the old masters once did. For artists Haiyan Kong and Paula Wilson, the NTD International Figure Painting Competition was also a place to…
Painting the Truth: On the Road to Mastery at the 5th NTD International Figure Painting Competition
An international painting competition is more than a place for storied artists to win prizes; it’s one where artists can gain valuable insight from their peers, in an atelier-like setting, just like the old masters once did. For artists Haiyan Kong and Paula Wilson, the NTD International Figure Painting Competition was also a place to…
Film Review: ‘Somewhere in Queens’: Ray Romano Achieves Hilarious Near-Perfect Comedy
R | 1h 46min | Comedy, Drama, Romance, Coming-of-Age | 21 April 2023 (USA) For nine seasons (1996–2005), former stand-up comedian Ray Romano co-produced, occasionally wrote, and played the title lead in “Everybody Loves Raymond” (“Everybody”), a CBS sitcom that enjoyed mammoth viewership and lukewarm critical response while offering ultrasafe content. From 2009 to 2011, Romano did the same thing on…
‘Canticle of the Sun’: St. Francis of Assisi and the Art of Praise
The reputation of St. Francis of Assisi as a nature lover often eclipses his identity as a writer in modern culture, and yet he is among the principal figures in Italian literature. In his youth, St. Francis greatly admired the courtly love poetry and lifestyle of the troubadours; in his maturity, Francis embraced the title…
Fashion Plate à la Française
Oscar Wilde quipped, “Fashion is ephemeral. Art is eternal. Indeed what is a fashion really? A fashion is merely a form of ugliness so absolutely unbearable that we have to alter it every six months!” It’s true that models, trends, and even designers often come and go. It is rare for something or someone to…
Château of Azay-le-Rideau: A Gem of the French Loire Valley
French-writer Honoré de Balzac described the Château of Azay-le-Rideau as “a faceted diamond set in the Indre.” A gem among the numerous châteaux of the Loire Valley, it is also one of the earliest examples of French Renaissance architecture. The primary structure was built between 1518 and 1528 by Gilles Berthelot, a financier of King…
If Music Be the Food of Art
William Shakespeare wrote famously, “If music be the food of love, play on.” That same sentiment could be applied to music as fuel and inspiration for fine art. Music has been a muse for artists from antiquity through subsequent centuries, with musicians and singers depicted as raconteurs, divinities, and in myths. Examining a selection of historical artworks…
Red Flags, Bright Hopes: Four Presidential Farewell Addresses
In his article “Presidential Farewell Addresses,” Gleaves Whitney notes that before Harry Truman only three presidents had composed formal farewell addresses to the nation. As Whitney tells us, three factors likely account for this circumstance. First, some of the early chief executives held George Washington and his farewell address in such esteem that they deemed…
Rewind, Review, and Re-Rate: ‘It Happens Every Spring’
1949 | Not Rated | 1h 27m | Comedy, Family, Sci-Fi Like American westerns, the 1940s and 50s saw a massive proliferation of sports films. But while the popularity of westerns began to wane in subsequent decades, sports movies continued to evolve, giving us some of the more inspirational films in cinema. As America’s national…
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