Pioneering cultural historian Jacques Barzun was the author of dozens of books and essays on everything from philosophy to music to baseball. He died Thursday in San Antonio at the age of 104.
Jacques Barzun, one of the most influential historians, educators and thinkers of the 20th century, died Thursday, just one month shy of his 105th birthday. Barzun seemed to have a limitless capacity to understand and translate complex ideas — about the evolution of Western culture, what it means to be free, and even the value of American baseball. He shared his observations in numerous books and magazine articles and at Columbia University, where he held forth for half a century.
Halle Berry's characters in Cloud Atlas crisscross time and space. The actress plays six roles, including German intellectual Jocasta Ayrs (above) and an Asian man.
Credit Warner Bros.
Luisa Rey (Halle Berry), Isacc Sachs (Tom Hanks) and Lloyd Hooks (Hugh Grant) are the subjects of one of the six separate narratives woven together in Cloud Atlas.
David Mitchell's epic philosophical novel Cloud Atlas was widely considered unfilmable — even by its author — when it came out in 2004. That's because the book's ornate structure, with stories nested inside stories across five centuries, seemed too complicated to be taken in quickly in a movie. But those complications were what attracted The Matrix's Andy and Lana (nee Larry) Wachowski, and Run Lola Run's Tom Tykwer to the project. Turning complexity into cineplexity is kind of what they do.
We've been looking at how technology has totally changed what it means to watch television or a movie. One of the biggest changes has been in demand — people want a baseball game — on their smartphone, wherever they are, right now. They want to pull up a video and stream it — on their laptop or phone, immediately, with no wait.
Mario Kreutzberger, aka Don Francisco, has served as host of Sábado Gigante since the show's debut in 1962. The variety show will mark its 50th anniversary on Saturday.
Credit Lynne Sladky / AP
Zoologist Ron Magill points to his wedding ring as dancers surround him during a 2006 taping of Sábado Gigante.
For 50 years, Spanish-speaking TV viewers have tuned into the weekly variety show Sábado Gigante.Host Don Francisco commands a festive live audience in Miami, with celebrity interviews, musical performances, goofy sidekicks and scantily clad dancers. The three-hour show is broadcast throughout the Americas.
An announcement: The end-of-the-week recap, formerly "Around The Jazz Internet" or "The Friday Link Dump," has a new name. Musicians will know that a "lead sheet" is a melodic sketch with chord changes, a reference guide for when you don't know the tune by heart. Here's what you ought to read from this week:
Five savory cupcakes: Chicken potpie, lasagna, grilled cheese, mac n' cheese and the Thanksgiving leftovers.
Credit Courtesy of Lisa S. Kim
Grilled cheese cupcakes ready for consumption. At our cupcake cook off, we stuffed these minis with Havarti cheese, roasted tomatoes and fresh basil.
Credit Courtesy of Lisa S. Kim
Cupcakes or just mac 'n cheese baked in a muffin tin?
Credit Courtesy of Lisa S. Kim
The Thanksgiving cupcake looks the most like your run-of-the-mill sweet cupcake. The recipe was created on the spot at our cupcake cook off: Biscuit dough is topped with stuffing, turkey and a crown of mashed potatoes.
Credit Courtesy of Lisa S. Kim
Five savory cupcakes: Chicken potpie, lasagna, grilled cheese, macaroni and cheese, and Thanksgiving leftovers.
Credit Courtesy of @LisaSKim
Bubbling chicken potpie cupcakes, fresh out of the oven. Crescent roll dough creates a shell for the chicken filling.
Credit Courtesy of @LisaSKim
A crown of mashed potatoes makes the Thanksgiving cupcake look like the sweet versions.
Credit Courtesy of @LisaSKim.
Making savory cupcakes brings creative, fun to the kitchen.
A few weeks ago, my friend came back from Brooklyn raving about the food served at a baby shower.
"Savory cupcakes!" she exclaimed. Lasagna, grilled cheese, chicken potpies and even a mac n' cheese cupcake — all shaped like the trendy dessert and served on a cupcake tree.
Despite all the enthusiasm, my first response was quite cynical. Isn't that just baked macaroni and cheese in a muffin tin?
Zachry and Meronym are only two of the combined 12 characters Tom Hanks and Halle Berry play in Cloud Atlas. It is a challenge that bests both actors, according to David Edelstein.
Credit Reiner Bajo / Warner Bros.
Jim Broadbent and Ben Wishaw, seen here as Ayrs and Frobisher, also play five roles each. Both put forth stellar performances.
First I need to talk about the book, because it's not as if Cloud Atlas the movie came from nowhere — and if you think it's only the movie you want to know about, I think you need a context for what's onscreen.
Author David Mitchell writes exquisite pastiches, and Cloud Atlas is in the form of six distinct and enthralling novellas set in six different eras with six different literary styles.
