The Rear View Mirror (2)
Faust is one of the most iconic German tales of legend, telling the tale of an unsatisfied man who makes a deal with the devil exchanging his soul for whatever…
Indoor Skydiving in Austin
iFLY has more than 80 locations across the United States, Canada and abroad. Texas has several: Austin, San Antonio, Fort Worth and Dallas, Houston and The Woodlands. It began in…
Ice Cream Museum at the Domain
A recent visit to the Museum of Ice Cream, located at the Domain in Austin, was a hoot. And now that it is decorated for Christmas, this is the ideal…
How to Ruin the Holidays, Graham Reynolds Style
I’ve written about Graham Reynolds, the virtuoso pianist, multi-instrumentalist, composer, bandleader, arranger, and jokester. That last bit is new to me as I discovered his wit as a raconteur at…
WOMEN IN JAZZ
Pamela and Kevin Hart, an iconic couple empowering jazz vocalists by entertaining Austin audiences with the best female jazz musicians, have done it again. The holiday concert that took place…
A Christmas Story
Originally released in 1983, the film A Christmas Story was no more than a moderate success at the time. But hindsight has changed its reception. The noted critic Roger Ebert…
‘Twas The Night Before: Christmas with the Austin Gay Men’s Chorus
The Aluminum Christmas Tree stole the show. For those (like me) who are too young to remember, Christmas trees made of aluminum were all the rage in America from 1960-65.…
Socrates and Plato: Two New Handbooks
Since everything Socrates said, or is purported to have said, is contained in the works of Plato, distinguishing between the two has always been problematic. Thus, if you going to…
A PUFF OF EXPELLED AIR: Herder’s History of Mankind
“With the exception of the genesis of living beings, it is perhaps the greatest of terrestrial creation.” What was Johann Gottfied Herder referring to? The power of speech. “Everything human…
BLANK SPLENDOUR: Caught between Infinity and Finitude
““Never can there be anything more between us,” Lady Grace said passionately to Lord John, as she rebuffed his marriage proposal. “Never, no, never!” Aghast and defeated, he sank after…