Cellos, ballet and Michelangelo
Here are the answers to my first reader quiz. (June 2022)
- Jul 12
- 4 min
A taste of Iceland
Kjötsúpa or Icelandic meat soup, is often called the island's national dish. It transforms lamb and root vegetables into warm primal comfort
- Apr 29
- 5 min
Eight stories of Michelangelo's Pietà
Twenty-something Michelangelo Buonarroti spent two years of sacrifice transforming a block of marble into a work 'no artist could better.'
- Feb 11
- 5 min
"Desserts for the soul"
I asked my readers which work of art most inspires them. Here is what they told me the art and artists that capture their imaginations.
- Dec 24, 2021
- 3 min
The taste of Christmas past and present
My family's most 'cinnfull' baking tradition Grandma's Cinnamon Raisin Rolls / Raisin Bread Of all the various Christmas traditions,...
- Jun 5, 2020
- 3 min
Eleven great music-related movies
Readers share their favourite movies where the music takes center stage. Music can lift a great movie to dizzying heights The right...
- Apr 30, 2020
- 1 min
Readers choose their 'All-time Favourite Novels'
Recently I asked my readers to choose their favourite novel of all-time. The one book they would read over and over. A story that stayed...
- Apr 10, 2020
- 2 min
The Hobbit: Or There and Back Again
It dominated the fantasy genre, though it was written as a children's book. The Hobbit also changed Western literature and the study of...
- Mar 31, 2020
- 2 min
ROOTS: The Saga of an American Family
One of the most groundbreaking books of the 20th century. It's frank depiction of slavery launched difficult conversations about race. It...
- May 1, 2019
- 6 min
The inspirations of Antonio Vivaldi
Was it only static landscape paintings that inspired The Four Seasons? Or was there more behind Vivaldi's timeless masterpiece? March 1,...
- Mar 25, 2019
- 8 min
Emily's Brontë's guide to literary immortality
Break all conventions, write with your sisters, befriend animals – create a masterpiece for the ages. How could it possibly be? She wrote...
- Mar 8, 2019
- 5 min
Che Guevara. The man vs. the icon
You cannot travel to Cuba without coming to face-to-face with him – on T-shirts, postcards, books, posters, paintings, hats, towels, even...
- Feb 16, 2019
- 6 min
Charles Edward's day of desinty
Like his great, great, great, great grandmother, Mary, Queen of Scots, Charles Edward Stuart sailed to Scotland from France in an effort...
- Feb 2, 2019
- 6 min
Mary, Queen of Scots & the Bonnie Prince
I was captivated recently with the new Mary Queen of Scots film epic, and its dramatic portray of perhaps the best known of all Scottish...
- Jan 12, 2019
- 6 min
The revenge of Johannes Gutenberg
Mainz, Germany - 3 May 1450 Johann Fust studied the curious man standing before him. He waved his arms wildly as he spoke with excitement...
- Dec 20, 2018
- 6 min
The week Charles Dickens changed Christmas
London, 14 December 1843 The morning dawned full of promise for Charles John Dickens. At the ripe old age of 31, he was making his first...
- Dec 4, 2018
- 5 min
The strange history of marrying for love
Love and marriage, love and marriage, go together like a - well you know . . . But this idyllic vision hasn’t been the norm for very...
- Nov 16, 2018
- 5 min
The rise and fall of handwritten signatures
A recent article in the NY Times about ‘sloppy signatures’ that could disqualify mail-in votes cast during the November mid-term US...
- Nov 1, 2018
- 6 min
Rediscovering Bob Marley in Aisle 10
His music is legendary, even coming from the overhead speakers at the grocery store. I was introduced to the music of Bob Marley by my...
- Oct 18, 2018
- 5 min
Santa Claus is buried in Italy
No, not the jolly old elf from 1930’s Coca-Cola magazine ads, but the real St. Nick himself. His bones and sarcophagus are held and...
- Oct 6, 2018
- 4 min
Guys named James. An author's nightmare?
Well maybe nightmare is a little strong to describe my dilemma with guys named 'James'. Hey, it’s a great name - classic, noble,...
- Sep 27, 2018
- 5 min
Who was the real William Shakespeare?
The guy from Stratford or Edward de Vere, Earl of Oxford? Yes, there is an authorship debate about who wrote the Shakespeare canon and...
- Sep 20, 2018
- 4 min
Do women today have too much to do?
Aircraft pioneer, journalist and mother Fay Gillis Wells has an answer for you. This weekend, I hauled out the toolbox my father gave my...
- Sep 14, 2018
- 5 min
Every cello is a time machine
A skilled musician can coax out ageless music from instruments that refuse to die. No a cello is not an actual flux-capacitored Delorean...
- Sep 6, 2018
- 5 min
Time traveling through DNA memories
I have always been fascinated with the concept of time travel. Maybe because I like history or perhaps because of the inevitable...
- Aug 31, 2018
- 5 min
Four mysteries of Mozart's death
The musical genius from Salzburg is long gone, but some questions about his death linger to this day. Call me naive. Or a lazy Mozart...
- Aug 23, 2018
- 3 min
How Monks Perfected Beer
In the history of brewing beer, monks have a special place in heaven. They found the perfect triangulation of spirituality, nutrition and...
- Aug 15, 2018
- 4 min
How many generations does it take to build a cathedral?
I recently returned from Europe and one thing that struck me as was the difference in time perspectives. I live in Canada where a...