George Washington's runaway slave
“I am free now and choose to remain so.” ONA JUDGE: I AM FREE by Diana Rubino and Piper Huguley Ona’s Story Teenaged Ona (known as...
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Dec 20, 20225 min read
A six-string dream machine
From Buddy Holly to Jimi Hendrix and beyond, a brief history of the Fender Stratocaster, one of the world's most revered electric guitars.
Aug 17, 20222 min read
"A book is a dream that you hold in your hand."
Books other than mine, that readers were reading this summer. In July I asked my readers what books they were currently reading....
Jul 13, 20221 min read
Cellos, ballet and Michelangelo
Here are the answers to my first reader quiz. (June 2022)
Jul 12, 20224 min read
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, 20225 min read
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, 20225 min read
"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, 20213 min read
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, 20203 min read
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, 20201 min read
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, 20202 min read
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, 20202 min read
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, 20196 min read
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, 20198 min read
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, 20195 min read
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, 20196 min read
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, 20196 min read
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, 20196 min read
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, 20186 min read
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, 20185 min read
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, 20185 min read
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, 20186 min read
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, 20185 min read
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, 20184 min read
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, 20185 min read
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, 20184 min read
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, 20185 min read
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, 20185 min read
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...
Though one of Russia’s most beloved composers was gay, it was the women in his life who helped nurture Tchaikovsky’s genius.
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