Opera Singing & The Performing Arts by Cathleen McGowan The fear, uncertainty, and grief brought on by these many months of pandemic isolation have taken their toll on everyone. The performing arts have been very hard hit—stages have “gone dark,” performance opportunities have been postponed indefinitely, traveling to gigs has become nearly impossible, students have Read more
A House with Many Rooms Book review by Jude Joseph Lovell Throughout his distinguished career, much has been made of the novelist Kazuo Ishiguro’s “mixed” heritage—the fact that he was raised in England by his Japanese parents. Since his novels tend to raise questions that strike to the core of humanity—who we really are, and Read more
I Love You, Marie Kondo by Grace Ann Stevens I have never had an addiction, at least not until now. But I recently have fallen madly in love with Marie Kondo and her Netflix show Tidying Up. I have known for a long time that I needed to clean out my closets but have been procrastinating Read more
Once Upon A Time in the West Book review by Jude Joseph Lovell Here we are in the U.S.A. in “the evil of its winter,” to lift a phrase from the celebrated Irish fiction writer Kevin Barry’s brand-new book of stories, That Old Country Music (Doubleday). “But then,” he notes, “I suppose January is a tough Read more
Love in the Time of COVID: How to Celebrate Valentine’s Day Safely by Lucy E.M. Black It’s approaching that time of year when many of us acknowledge the special people in our lives by giving them Valentine’s Day cards, organizing small celebrations, or preparing other small loving gestures. This is yet one more occasion, unfortunately, Read more
15 Social Protocols for the Working World by Lucy E.M. Black As a writer of historical fiction, I am happy to own Social Etiquette: or Manners and Customs of Polite Society, published in 1878.* Books like this serve me well as useful references for nineteenth-century life, and, while some chapters of this book are obscure Read more
Protecting Your Privacy Online by Tracy E. Hill, Ph.D. Facebook has taken a huge hit for it’s use of our personal information. But whether you own Facebook stock or not, the bigger question is how do you protect your online privacy? Mark Zuckerberg fared well with the interrogation from the House and Senate on how Read more
Small Steps to Big Resolutions by Bernadette Sukley According to U.S. News & World Report, the failure rate for New Year’s resolutions is about 80 percent, and most of us lose our resolve by mid-February. There’s an adage that you can eat an elephant—by eating one spoonful at a time. This is true of resolutions. Read more
My Two Favorite Books of 2020 by Jude Joseph Lovell Proving the old adage about time, flight, and having fun, I return again for the third year in a row to share my two favorite books of the year. While neither of these titles were published recently, both are well worth the investment of time Read more
Jamie’s Cryin’—The Life and Loss of Edward “Eddie” Van Halen (Jan. 26, 1955–Oct. 6, 2020) By Elizabeth Cruciani The year 2020 has been cruel and unforgiving, especially to those in the music industry. Not just because the COVID-19 pandemic put a halt to all live performances, but also due to the loss of several talented Read more
