Hello, faithful reader. How was your weekend? Did you see any good movies? Let us tell you about the movie we watched. We’ll try not to give away any spoilers. Admittedly, the […]
Warhol’s 8-Hour Movie of the Empire State Building
A Tortured Critic Responds to a Tortured Saxophone
Is honesty really the best policy? Unquestionably, it is wrong to be untruthful. Just the same, there are times when the better approach might be silence — or at least honesty coupled […]
The Day T.S. Eliot Passed on a Literary Masterpiece
T.S. Eliot (1888-1965) may have been a brilliant poet, author, and playwright, but as a judge of other authors, he was far from infallible. When given a chance to review one manuscript, […]
Literature Professors Who Know More Than the Authors
Who hasn’t sat through a class, wondering if you knew more about the subject than the person who is teaching? Have you ever received a grade that you absolutely knew was unfair? […]
Pierre Brassau: the Chimpanzee Who Made a Monkey Out of Modern Art
When the paintings of Pierre Brassau were released for public viewing in 1964, the artistic community was lavish in its praise. Rolf Anderberg of the Göteborgs-Posten wrote, “Brassau paints with powerful strokes, […]
Take a Shot at Guessing Why Picasso Carried a Gun
No one wants to be misunderstood, and being a great artist does not give you an exemption from this rule. Pablo Picasso (1881-1973) had a particularly-memorable way of discouraging anyone from questioning […]
Michelangelo’s Last Judgment on an Unwelcomed Critic
No one enjoys receiving criticism. Even the greatest artists in history dislike critiques. Unlike the rest of us, great artists have a way of getting even that should give all of us […]
A Lesson From Fred Astaire: Don’t Listen to the Critics
The name Fred Astaire has become synonymous with dancing perfection. The star of more than 30 musical films is widely regarded as the most influential dancer in American entertainment. If it had […]
Harsh Movie Reviews from the Poison Pens of Movie Critics
Depending on your point of view, movie critics have the best or the worst job imaginable. They get paid to sit around and watch movies all day. That may seem like a […]
From the Sharpened Tongue of Dorothy Parker
Dorothy Parker (August 22, 1893 – June 7, 1967) was a master of words and knew how to use them to make a point. As a critic, poet, and essayist, everything […]
Everyone is a Critic
From the pens of critics who are not afraid to speak freely: “This is not a novel to be tossed lightly aside. It should be thrown with great force.” — Dorothy Parker […]
“Clumsy, Blundering, Tuneless Bellowing” — A Critic’s View of Wagner
Critic John Ruskin left no doubt of his opinion of Richard Wagner’s opera “Die Meistersinger Von Nürnberg” — “Of all the bête, clumsy, blundering, boggling, baboon-blooded stuff I ever saw on a […]
Fellow Authors Are the Hardest to Please
It would be an understatement to say that Mark Twain was not a fan of Jane Austen. “She makes me detest all her people, without reserve. Is that her intention? It is […]
No Fan of Jacko
“Michael Jackson’s album was called ‘Bad’ because there wasn’t enough room on the sleeve for ‘Pathetic’.” — Prince source
To Critique or Not to Critique?
Voltaire wrote of Shakespeare’s Hamlet, “It is a vulgar and barbarous drama, which would not be tolerated by the vilest populace of France, or Italy…. One would imagine this piece to be […]
Commonplace Fun Facts 