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…
AUSTIN OPERA at 40
Austin Opera celebrated its 40th birthday in style at the Long Center this past weekend. Music Director Timothy Myers, in an interview with KXAN news, said in advance of the…
I Traded My ABBA Tickets for a Kitchen Table — then this show changed everything
Once a Eurovision cynic, I walked out of ABBA Voyage stunned, converted, and grateful for the wake-up call. About 49 years ago, in Tokyo, I first heard ABBA. I wasn’t…
Other Desert Cities
Continuing its 20th Anniversary Season, City Theatre Austin proudly presents Other Desert Cities, a searing family saga by Pulitzer Prize finalist, playwright, and screenwriter Jon Robin Baitz. Family pride proves…
The Book of Kells: Unlocking the Enigma
The greatest treasure of Ireland, The Book of Kells, is considered the most magnificent medieval manuscript that survives and one of the oldest. The Latin manuscript contains the four gospels…
ROBERT McNAMARA: A Distorted View of Loyalty
For most authors embarking on a biography, the danger is to identify too closely with their chosen subject. The result, in the worst case, becomes hagiography. But even scrupulous authors…
Temple Church and the Secret Within
Way back when The Da Vinci Code was first released, I was fascinated—not least because symbols and symbology have been tenants of my mystical journey and curiosity, seeking for decades.…