Extremely Large Telescope: A Progress Report
At 39 metres in diameter, the mirror of Europe’s Extremely Large Telescope (ELT) will be the largest in the world. Scientists plan to begin serious observations with it around 2025,…
Astronomy in the 2030s
No one can predict what discoveries will be made in the 2030s, but we can say with some certainty what space-based telescopes will be used to make those discoveries. That…
We Are Not Alone: Nobel laureate in Austin
“Most modern scientists think we’re not alone,” said Dr. John Mather, winner of the Nobel Prize in Physics in 2006. He was referring to intelligent life elsewhere in the universe,…
Sondheim Musical: Pointillist or Pointless?
Stephen Sondheim premiered his play Sunday in the Park With George in 1984. It is the instantiation of art as a musical, being a stage play about George Suerat’s most…
Dead Men Tell No Tales
While the music of the 80s is near the top of everyone’s memory, plays from that decade have not made such an indelible mark on the cultural memory. On view…
Jake Tapper: Is Trump’s America the New Norm?
“The most powerful man in the world is trying to undermine us. We need to be purer than pure.” In an appearance at the LBJ Presidential Library, the ‘us’ Jake…
Dirty Laundry Offers Rare Clothing in Austin
The newest addition to the stores on 6th Street that help keep Austin weird is Dirty Laundry. Open since April 14, DL offers a range of very unusual items ranging…
The Book Teaches Me Something: Ondaatje
Most famous for his book The English Patient, which in its movie form won the Best Picture Oscar in 1997, Michael Ondaatje spoke about the creation of his books at…
From Russia With Love
The Austin Symphony performed an all-Russian concert as the closer of their 2017-18 season. First up was a piece known in the trade as a “real knuckle-buster,” the fiendishly difficult…
Passionate About Christmas Trees
The outside temperature is 100. That means Christmas is just around the corner! Well, that might be stretching the point, but for Thomas Harman and his company Balsam Brands, half…