His name was Harold Williams, and he was often called Hank Williams. Like the country star, he had musical talent — he could expertly play the fiddle and the accordion — but, if I can… Read More
“While it’s fun to watch James Bond kick ass, we don’t really identify with him. Most people — myself included — feel overwhelmed by life from time to time. And we can more easily understand… Read More
“To make mistakes is natural, but to go to one’s grave without having understood them is to make life a pointless exercise.”— Susanna Tamaro This bit of wisdom is from the novelist Susanna Tamaro’s Follow… Read More
A young man who believes hammering his face bones is actually making him attractive — and who gets attention by demeaning women, acting like a jerk, getting arrested and rage-baiting millions — has been making… Read More
“Manuscript: something submitted in haste and returned at leisure.”— Oliver Herford The quote of the day is about something freelancers will know well. It’s also, alas, a bit of an anachronism. Gifted in multiple ways… Read More
I think it was the Graham Chapman one that made me laugh out loud. It was one of those reels that are all over Facebook: AI-generated matchups that “reunite” the supposed original actors with the… Read More
“Pictures just come to my mind and I tell my heart to go ahead.”— Horace Pippin The painter Horace Pippin made this comment in an interview for American Artist magazine, published in 1945, the year… Read More
Here’s a moment of joy for you. Dozens of people dressed in red, wearing stockings and black sashes, waving their arms just like Kate Bush in the most famous video she made for her 1978… Read More
“People will be sympathetic to you if you are thinking out loud. If you seem to be grasping your way, trying to get a handle on what you’re learning and where you want to go… Read More
What would you think about a small group of people who started yelling at teenagers in, say, an atrium at a shopping mall? How would you react if they followed the kids up and down… Read More
“All a designer can do is to anticipate a mood before people realize that they are bored. It is simply a matter of getting bored first.”— Mary Quant The designer Mary Quant was synonymous with… Read More
If I were to play you two slightly different versions of a radio news report, or perhaps one for television, I wonder if you could tell the difference. I bet you could. The content, structure… Read More
“Regardless of our circumstances, they do not define us — not unless we give in and let them. Circumstances never determine who we are; they reveal who we are.”— Chuck Pagano A former player himself,… Read More
Jazz on a Summer’s Day was released in 1959, and was filmed the preceding summer at the Newport Jazz Festival. Its opening moments combine the dappled, reflected sunshine in a harbour with a jazzy rhythm…. Read More
When I lived in Ottawa, I was always so impressed by the late, great photographer Bruno Schlumberger, who knocked it out of the park over and over and over again for the Citizen. Schlumberger had… Read More