Miles Davis / “In A Silent Way” It comes as little surprise that today’s greatest cultural wars are being waged within our educational system. The battles of this war are fought in all segments of the American educational system from our secondary school system to our colleges and universities. We read about scrimmages in the […]
(Editor’s note: The chapter below titled “Snow, Death & The Bewildered Herd” is from the book Seeking Truth in the Country of Liesby Edward Curtain. I have been reading this brilliant book of essays collected from blogs over the past few years by the author, a professor at an eastern college. Outside the insightful comments on […]
(The below is from Edward Curtin’s essay “Bob Dylan: A Masked Man in Search of Redemption?” from his book Seeking Truth in a Country of Lies (2020). “He wears a mask and his face grows to fit it.” George Orwell, “Shooting an Elephant” In late March 2020, (Dylan) unexpectedly released a new song. He burst […]
A good friend of mine just had her 83 birthday today and I sent her a little time capsule containing key things in culture the year she was born, in 1938. Here is the top song of the year by Artie Shaw, “Begin the Beguine.” One of the most beautiful jazz songs ever created. I […]
Mobster Bugsy Siegel opened the glitzy Flamingo Hotel in Las Vegas on December 26, 1946. Well-known singer and comedian Jimmy Durante headlined the night’s entertainment, with music by Cuban band leader Xavier Cugat. Some of infamous gangster Benjamin “Bugsy” Siegel’s Hollywood friends, including actors George Raft, George Sanders, Sonny Tufts and George Jessel were in attendance. […]
Stars in the nightBlazing their lightCan’t hold a candleTo your razzle-dazzle One of the most haunting pieces of music in modern times was written for the Broadway production of the musical Finian’s Rainbow with lyrics by E.Y. Harburg and music by Burton Lane. The original 1947 production ran for 725 performances performance. Francis Ford Coppola did […]
Growing up in LA and living in San Francisco and New York City, I’ve been to some great restaurants but I can’t recall any that equalled the fun mixed with fantastic and incredibly reasonably-priced food we had the other night at the new restaurant in town that everyone is talking about, Kitchen Social in the […]
Kashmir — was this hypnotic epic the pinnacle of Led Zeppelin’s achievements? David Cheal 7/20/20 – Financial Times When Led Zeppelin recorded their Physical Graffiti album in 1973-74, none of them had been to Kashmir. Various members of the band had travelled to India (where Jimmy Page and Robert Plant played an impromptu gig at a club […]
“What do we mean by the American Revolution? Do we mean the American war? The Revolution was effected before the war commenced. The Revolution was in the minds and hearts of the people … This radical change in the principles, opinions, sentiments, and affections of the people, was the real American Revolution.” John Adams (1818) John […]
In 1784, Jefferson was sent by the Congress of the Confederation to join Benjamin Franklin and John Adams in Paris for negotiating treaties of amity and commerce with Great Britain and several other nations of the world at that time. Some believed that the recently widowed Jefferson was depressed, and that the assignment would distract […]
