Wagner's Women
Natasha Walter argues that Brühilde, not Siegfreid, is the real hero of the Ring cycle. Her proof is in the music.
Wes Phillips
The Graduate—Happily Ever After?
What happened to Benjamin and Elaine after they got off the bus? Writer Charles Webb, who based the characters on himself and his wife, can't tell you. He thinks he no longer owns the rights to his own story.
Yes There Are So Stupid Questions
Asking good questions is a skill that can be taught—and should be.
Fifty Best Films Made From Books
According to The Guardian and the Book Marketing Group. I'm not too big a fan of a few of the choices—Fight Club?BMAFG!—but I'm really happy to see the criminally under-appreciated Devil In a Blue Dress and The Day of the Triffids on there.
Twenty Years On
From The Guardian comes "Fallout: the human cost of a nuclear catastrophe," a photo essay on Chernobyl that's difficult to look at—and impossible to look away from.
Solid Wood Cadillac
We're talking two 500-cubic-inch V-8s, 1000 board-feet feet of mahogany (cut into 4183 pieces), five gallons of glue, 60 pounds of drywall screws, and four gallons of varnish.
Writing About His Dad
Steve Martin never ceases to amaze me—sometimes by his audacity, sometimes by what he chooses to do (any number of recent movie projects illustrates this point, although our culture's current resistance to good film-making is not his fault). I digress, however—this is powerful, honest writing and I feel better for simply having read it. You go, Mr. Martin.
I'm a Professor
And I play one on TV, too. Why some academics can hit it and others have to quit it. Yes, we're still talking television.
If Escher Was in Grade School Today
I'd laugh if I weren't so busy crying.
The Truth About the Roswell Dissection?
John Humphreys spills the beans.