| Project
Greenlight: True Hollywood |
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| The
third season of Matt Damon and Ben Affleck's pet
project debuted last night. The concept was to
bypass traditional Hollywood roadblocks and give
young filmmakers a chance. The result is a little
less noble: it's pretty much business in Hollywood
as usual. |
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| Poems
of the Week: St. Patrick's Day |
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| Thursday
is dedicated to St. Patrick, patron saint of Ireland
(and Nigeria), so it seemed fitting that this week's
poems celebrate Celtic verse. |
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| Oscar...The
Early Years |
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| Tickets
for the first Academy Awards were $10 each, and
there was dancing first! here's the story of the
very first Academy Awards and the casual founding
of what has turned out to be a media monster. |
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| Marlon,
Oscar...and a Nice Piece of Veal |
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| For
this year's Academy Awards nosh-up (and in memory
of the immortal Marlon Brando), David Ross has
decided to honor Oscar's favorite mafia movie.
("Leave the gun. Take the cannoli.") |
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| Poems
of the Week: Alexander Pope |
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| "If
it rhymes, and you've heard it before, it's by Pope!"
He was one of the few poets who was appreciated
in his own time, but that doesn't mean his life
was easy. Here is the story of one of the English
language's most influential voices. |
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| Poems
of the Week: The First Black Poets |
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| The
slave trade tore an entire people from their homeland
and condemned them to generations of servitude on
another continent. Slavery became the subject of
literature as early as the 1660s when Aphra Behn
wrote Orinoko, but it is the voices of the slaves
themselves that is most striking. This week we take
a look at the poetry that emerged from America's
first black citizens. |
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| And
the Nominees Are... |
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| The
2005 Oscar horse race has officially begun. First
out of the gate was 'Aviator' with 11 nominations.
Could this finally be Scorsese's year? |
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| Poems
of the Week: Trains |
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| The
modern world can be dated to the birth of the railroad.
It was such a visible and dramatic technology, and
made the population truly mobile. Hardly surprising,
then, that poets and songwriters have been inspired
by iron, steam and speed since it first roared (or
puffed) onto the scene. |
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| Best
of 2004: One Nation, Divided |
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| It
was the year of the gory 'Passion,' the passionate
'Farenheit 9/11' and the sophisticated 'Sideways.'
In a year in which quality seemed to be on the back-burner
for Hollywood, tinseltown surprised once again.
Here are Scott Mantz's 10 best of the year. |
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| Celebration
Dinner for Julia |
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| How
best to honour the woman who changed the way Americans
eat? Why, with food, of course! David Ross plans
a menu to celebrate the life of the doyenne of
American cooking. |
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| Poems
of the Week: Imagination |
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| You
might think that imagination would be a minimum
requirement for poets and writers. But not always.
The Bible was dead against it, for starters. |
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| The
10 Best Christmas Movies Ever |
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| And
none of them star Jimmy Stewart! Check out our saccharine-free
list for a few flicks that are in the spirit, but
without the syrup. |
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| Poems
of the Week: Coleridge |
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| The
Lake Poets began as radicals and gradually settled
down to a conservative old age. Except for Coleridge,
who lived life on the edge right to the end. |
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| Legends
of the Fall |
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| The
nights are drawing in and temperatures are dropping.
That means one thing: comfort food. Time to loosen
our belts and stock up for the winter. (Yes, even
in California.) |
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| The
Daily Show: Not So Fake After All |
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| Its
coverage of the recent conventions attracted the
same number of viewers as the major cable news
networks. Is The Daily Show's growing influence
the result of the fact that its satire is on the
money, or is something else contributing to its
rise in favor? Like, say, civility. |
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| Poems
of the Week: John Keats |
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| Today
Keats is recognised as one of the greatest poets
in the English language, but it wasn't always so.
In his own day he was a working class Cockney with
ideas above his station. |
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| Poems
of the Week: The Abolition of Slavery |
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| October
is Black History Month in the UK, so we thought
we'd take a look at how slavery came to be abolished
across the pond. And at the writers who were inspired
to fight against "the trade." |
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| Fish
On the Barby |
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| Labor
Day is behind us, but that doesn't mean summer
has flown the coop. It's far too hot to even think
about turning the oven on, so fire up the barbecue
and heft some crustaceans over the coals! |
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| Poems
of the Week: Sir Walter Scott |
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| These
days the prolific Scotsman is best known for his
tales of adventure, but Walter Scott began his career
as a poet. We take a look at the life of the man,
and the work that brought him fame. |
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| Poems
of the Week: Working People |
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| Most
poets come from the educated elites, and they write
about...well, you know. But some versifiers celebrate
the people who actually make the world go around,
and seeing as this week starts off with Labor Day,
we thought we'd pay tribute to a few of them. |
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| Piece
of Cake |
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| In
which Debbie Pawlak sets out to learn how to make
a rose out of icing and discovers a world of pink
elephants, margarita cakes and porcupine flowers. |
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| Obesity,
Mr. Atkins and the Fat Friars |
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| Complaints
about obesity are nothing new, but our problems
in seeing the issue with sympathy seem to date
back a long way, and not without reason as a new
study reveals... |
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| Poems
of the Week: Cowper |
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| This
week we take an in-depth look at one of the most
influential talents of modern poetry, William Cowper.
Poets often have difficult lives, but Cowper battled
crippling depression all his life. And you think
your life is hard. |
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| Morels:
Phoenix of the Forest |
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| In
these days when almost every fruit and vegetable
is available year round, there's something wonderful
about the truly seasonal. Like satsumas at Christmas...and
forest-grown morel mushrooms. Mmmm! |
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| Secrets
of a Civil War Hero |
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| Like
many other young men, Franklin Thompson answered
his president's call and joined the army to fight
for the Union. He became a master of disguise
as he infiltrated enemy camps. A hero to his comrades,
there was one thing even they didn't know —Franklin
Thompson was a woman. |
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| Room
Service |
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| Tired
of the instant coffee and stale croissant that
passes for room service at most hotels? So is
David Ross, so here is his guide to extracting
the best possible bedside service from your friendly
neighborhood...Vegas hotel. (Hey, he had to start
somewhere!) |
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| Poems
of the Week: Aphra Behn |
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| Aphra
Behn was the first woman to earn a living by writing.
Virginia Woolf was of the opinion that every woman
who earns her bread with her pen today should leave
flowers on Behn's grave (which is in Westminster
Abbey, in case you feel so incllined). But Behn's
life was more than that of the penurious writer:
she was a spy, a playwright, and an international
traveler. Read on... |
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| Poems
of the Week: Lyrics |
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| Before
the nineteenth century, the majority of poems were
recited to music or sung. Today the status of lyrics
is lower for some reason, even though for most of
us they represent our earliest introduction to poetry.
This week we take a look at lyrics, lyricists and
musical theatre. |
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| The
Tin Lizzie Life |
|
| Henry
Ford founded his company in 1903 based on lilttle
more than an idea. Well, not just one idea. Several
ideas. And he didn't stop there. In this 100th
year of the Ford Motor Corp., Debbie Pawlak takes
a look at the beginning. |
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| Skillset:
Red Chile Sauce |
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| Ever
wonder why the enchiladas you make at home never
taste like the real deal? Wonder no more! |
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| Blood
and Circuses |
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| Mel
Gibson's 'Passion of the Christ' may have bagged
the box office on this Oscar weekend, but how
does it stand up as history, or even Biblical
scholarship? Find out here. |
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