Gay Men’s Chorus: Light in defiance of darkness
Once again the Austin Gay Men’s Chorus (AGMC) has offered a lovely gift for the holidays to the people of Texas: some travel from Corpus Christi for the concert. This…
Reading Homer’s Odyssey
Picking up Homer’s Odyssey and reading it ‘cold’ is not a good idea. Reading it is essential, as it (together with The Iliad) is the foundational text of Western civilization,…
HERCULE POIROT IS BACK!
It is not everyday that one gets to interview the world’s most famous detective. Austinites will be pleased to learn that Hercule Poirot is in residence here until Dec. 28.…
Every Day You Eat Like a God:
The Quiet Resurrection of Austin’s First True Chinese Banquet House When the old New Fortune banquet hall in Chinatown on North Lamar shuttered during the uneasy stillness of the COVID…
The Intoxication of the Ruins of Rome
You may think you know the ruins of ancient Rome, but this book will make you think about them in new ways. Roland Mayer is Emeritus Professor of Classics at…
Even Hell has a Library
“I am unable to satisfy my thirst for books.” That pithy line was written in 1337 by Petrarch, and that was even before the printing press was invented! Imagine what…
The Noble Rot: Not as Rotten as It Sounds
On a drizzly October evening, I slipped into Noble Rot Soho with a friend I was visiting in London. He told me he had a surprise for me. The mystery…
ROBERT GATES Reflects on Thatcher and Reagan
In a recent appearance at the University of Texas in Austin, former Secretary of Defense Robert Gates shared his fond memories of both British PM Margaret Thatcher, and his boss…
EXHIBIT OF ANCIENT MARBLES in Ft. Worth
The Torlonia Collection is the most important private collection of Roman marble sculptures in the world. Comprising more 622 works and a wide range of sculptural types and subjects. A…
From Bricklayer to Eclector: Sir John Soane
Entering the Soane’s, you’re immediately engulfed by a visual tempest — a staggering accumulation of art, artifacts, and plaster casts squeezed into three adjoining London townhouses. There’s not a patch…