It is March 2 and some interesting people were born on this day. The wonderful Alvin Youngblood Hart is 50 today. John Irving is 71 today. The genuinely great Mikhail Gorbachev is 82. John Cullum, the fine musical theater actor, … Continue reading
Today is Noam Chomsky’s 88th birthday. It’s remarkable to see him these days. We know that the human brain deteriorates distinctly around the age of 70. Yet Chomsky’s certainly doesn’t seem to have. Now part of this is no doubt … Continue reading
It is Easter. When I was a kid, I never much liked the holiday. It is, after all, not nearly as cool as Christmas. But the main reason that I didn’t like it was that it came at the end … Continue reading
On this day in 1848, the great stained glass artist Louis Comfort Tiffany was born. He was the son of the Tiffany. He came from money — much further back than his father. But we don’t need to talk about … Continue reading
Happy Martin Luther King Jr Day, everyone! As you ought to know, today is not his birthday. He was actually born on 15 January 1929. Given that his father lived to be just shy of 85 years old, there is … Continue reading
On this day in 1748, the great French painter Jacques-Louis David was born. He is one of the greatest of the neoclassical painters. Unfortunately, his reputation has been tarnished because of his involvement with the French Revolution. This attitude is … Continue reading
On this day in 1750, the great Classical composer Antonio Salieri was born. Although he was born in Italy, he spent almost his entire life in Vienna. He was a protege of Gluck and is generally considered Germanic in his … Continue reading
I am not one to claim that catastrophe is “opportunity!” Bad things happen and they suck. But that shouldn’t stop us from relishing inspiring stories that come out of catastrophe. And so it won’t stop me from related two stories … Continue reading
I’ll tell you a secret: it’s not Christmas. It’s Christmas Eve, and I am really pushing to get everything done for tomorrow (today) and maybe the day after (tomorrow). I love going out of town. But it is really hard … Continue reading
On this day in 1647, the French philosopher Pierre Bayle was born. He is noted for arguing in favor of religious tolerance. But there’s an interesting aspect to words like “tolerance” and “diversity.” They are exclusive. Sure, we do want … Continue reading
On this day back in 1667, the Italian monk and non-Euclidean geometrist Giovanni Girolamo Saccheri was born. The great composer, Johann Christian Bach was born in 1735. He was the only clearly Classical of the Bach boys. Here is his … Continue reading
On this day back in 1578, the Italian Baroque painter Francesco Albani was born. He specialized in a kind of idyllic religious work that is not widely appreciated but which I rather like. Baroque composer Nicola Porpora was born in … Continue reading