π₯ Explore this insightful post from Culture | The Guardian π π Category: Books,Biography books,Culture,History books,Art and design books β
Key idea: MMost of what we know, or think we know, about the court of Henry VIII comes directly from the paintings of Hans Holbein. There is the famous image of the king himself β bloated, phallic, hard, looking more like an assassin than a king. But there is also the ascetic Thomas More, who hides his hard streak behind fine bones, and the sly and thuggish Thomas Cromwell, with those sly eyes and the beginnings of a double chin.…
π₯ Discover this must-read post from Culture | The Guardian π π Category: Theatre,Panto season,Children's theatre,Stage,Lyric Hammersmith,Culture,Comedy,Comedy,Puppetry β
Hereβs what youβll learn: TIt's not your standard Jack and the Beanstalk. In Sonia Jalali's version, the story is picked up and dropped at a school in Hammersmith, run by the meat-loving monster Fleshkrip (John Partridge, wearing a salami-printed suit). There's no giant either; Just a giant computer system hidden in the sky, designed to wipe children's brains of all their imaginations.It's all fun and good games, but sometimes you crave a little familiarity. However, with the truly adorable Fairy Godfather (Jade…
π₯ Discover this awesome post from Culture | The Guardian π π Category: Poetry,Books,Culture β
Hereβs what youβll learn: I missed youDid you know that the moon was very old?Might have to go home?She keeps it closeThe way old people do.Goya wore candles on his hatBut Humphry Davy invented the miner's lamp.A day on Enceladus is longer than a year.Tonight, we have the Spanish Civil War.You can't go on like this, moonLooking into people's bedroomsAnd stars have their own lives to live.When did you last think about the same chair? truly? He thinks!You have to gather your strength, moon.You say…
π₯ Read this awesome post from Culture | The Guardian π π Category: Music,Pop and rock,Culture,RosalΓa,Celeste,Royal Shakespeare Company β
Key idea: TThree years ago, Matt Maltese was in an informal co-writing session with some friends. A song came out of it called Magnolias, which is an abstract piano song about imagining his funeral. βI didn't think anything of it,β he says. βTwo years later, we heard some strange whispers that Rosalia somehow heard.β It was true: six months ago, the Spanish pop star's demo of the song was sent to the Maltese. He tried not to get too excited, even…
π₯ Check out this awesome post from Culture | The Guardian π π Category: Hip-hop,Music,Culture,Rap,Poetry,US news β
Hereβs what youβll learn: FOr for the first time in 35 years, Billboard's Hot 100 chart did not include a rap song among its top 40 hit records. Anyone who has listened to music for at least that long can list countless reasons why this is the case now: all the beats sound the same, all the artists are industrial factories, all the lyrics are barely intelligible and so on.. For the father of hip-hop, Abiodun Oyewole, it boils down to this: βWe…
π Explore this insightful post from Culture | The Guardian π π Category: Bollywood,India,Film,Culture,World news,South and central Asia π Hereβs what youβll learn: Dharmendra, one of the most prominent stars of Indian Bollywood cinema, has died at the age of 89.Born Dharam Singh Deol, but later known as Dharmendra, he rose to fame in the 1960s and became one of Hindi cinema's most recognizable and popular stars in a career spanning six decades.Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi was among those who paid tribute to Dharmendra after his death was announced at his home in Mumbai on Monday morning.Modi said that…
π₯ Discover this trending post from Culture | The Guardian π π Category: Art,Australian art,Art and design,Sculpture,Culture,Gavin Turk,Ai Weiwei,Damien Hirst π‘ Key idea: HeyOn the second floor of the Honey Armanious Gallery at Buxton Contemporary Gallery in Melbourne, a roll of tangerine peel sits on a shelf, its yellow, thick inner sides facing up. It feels like it should be cleaned, but it won't be. The shell is not trash discarded by a careless visitor: it is a perfect resin cast made by Armanius.Resin models of other, more common items were placed in the boxes, carefully placed around the gallery:…
π₯ Explore this must-read post from Culture | The Guardian π π Category: Science fiction and fantasy films,Film,Culture,John Carpenter,Comedy films π Main takeaway: John Carpenter, writer and directorIn 1970, I partnered with Dan O'Bannon, a classmate at the University of Southern California, on a major student project. We wanted to make a sci-fi movie inspired by Dr. Strangelove and 2001. We had no money but we had huge ambition. Dan co-wrote it, was also the production designer and editor, and starred in the film as Sergeant Beanback.We started with some money from my dad, shooting in 16mm. It was a…
π₯ Discover this awesome post from Culture | The Guardian π π Category: Film,Culture,Clement Freud,Sigmund Freud,Matthew Freud,Richard Curtis,UK news β
Main takeaway: Jill Freud, the theater star who was also the inspiration for the character of Lucy in CS Lewis's The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, has died at the age of 98.Her daughter, Emma Freud, announced the news, writing: "My beautiful 98-year-old mother bowed for the last time. After a loving evening - as we knew she was on her way - surrounded by children, grandchildren and pizza, she asked us all to turn away so she could…
β¨ Explore this must-read post from Culture | The Guardian π π Category: Jimmy Cliff,Music,Reggae,Jamaica,Film,Bob Dylan,Paul Simon,Soul,Brazil,London,Yusuf/Cat Stevens,Nation of Islam,Bob Marley,Africa,Elvis Costello β
Key idea: Singer-songwriter Jimmy Cliff, who has died aged 81, was one of Jamaica's most popular artists. A roving ambassador who introduced the music and culture of his island to audiences around the world at a time when reggae was largely unknown, he was a pioneer with a distinctly loud voice whose themes of civil and human rights resonated with many.The rousing optimism of 'Wonderful World, Beautiful People' spent 13 weeks in the British singles charts in…
