Picasso and Einstein
The year is 1904, and the place is Paris. Specifically, the Lapin Agile, a bar; in English, it means Nimble Rabbit. In 1904 Picasso painted a portrait of Suzanne Bloch;…
Texas Honey Bee Farm
Not far from Austin Zoo lies the Texas Honey Bee Farm, nestled in a wooded area close to Cedar Valley. I visited there recently for a honey tasting (available in…
The Sound of Music
Twenty years ago I saw Julie Andrews and Christopher Plummer on stage in Toronto for a Sound of Music reunion. As Ms. Andrews had already pretty much stopped singing by…
Frank Lloyd Wright’s House at Cranbrook
Of the 400 remaining buildings designed and built by Frank Lloyd Wright, some 250 are single-family homes. Several of these are open to the public; Michigan has at least three.…
War of the Worlds
The threat of alien invasion is very much with us now, as it actually happened on Jan. 6, 2021. It was a worn-out Hollywood cliché that when aliens invaded they…
RAPHAEL: Blockbuster Exhibit in London
For someone who has been dead for 502 years, Raphael still exudes a superstar aura in the art world. Together with Leonardo and Michelangelo, they are the Great Triumvirate, the…
STONEHENGE: The First Exhibit
Considering the worldwide fame of Stonehenge, and centuries of antiquarian and scientific investigation, it may come a surprise that there has never been a museum exhibit about this ancient monument.…
World Premiere by Quinn Mason
The Draylen Mason Composer-in-Residence program honors the memory of Draylen Mason, a promising young Austin musician killed in 2018 by the Austin package bomber. The first and current holder of…
American Landscapes
The concluding Masterworks concert by our local treasure, the Austin Symphony Orchestra, featured works that musically depict the landscapes of America. Guest soloist John Novacek was key to making this…
Crimes of the Heart
Crimes of the Heart, (made into a film flop in 1986) won the Pulitzer Prize in 1981/82. It was originally a three-act play, here performed in two. It transferred from…