Blogcritics Section: Culture

What I Learned About Love From Tony Soprano

Van Wallach — Thu, 8 Jan 2009 04:22:24 EST

Seeking to heal after another cycle of unrequited love, I sought solace from a murderous, fictional New Jersey mob boss.
For smart romantic advice, I turn to Tony Soprano, the fictional center of The Sopranos on HBO. As I watched the series on DVD over the past year, mental notes piled up as Tony clashed with his mother Livia, therapist Jennifer Melfi, wife Carmela, and a string of lovers. Nothing ultimately satisfies him, as Tony is a man at war with himself. He has...

Traditional Radio, Part Three: Jocks, Music, Social Networking, Old & New Media

Radio Coach Sam Weaver — Thu, 8 Jan 2009 03:53:44 EST

Traditional radio is at a crossroads, and only a marriage with new media provides the solutions.
Relaxed FCC regulations, consolidation, and creative financing have placed traditional radio at peril. This final installment of a three part series will attempt to provide some solutions for revitalization.Road to RecoveryThe first place to start is with the sound of the stations. Enough with syndication, put local faces on the brand. Syndication...

When Art Meets the Heart of a Child

Diana Hartman — Wed, 7 Jan 2009 08:53:22 EST

By the time I was 10 years old I was well aware of what constituted art and the arts - and what didn�t.
Having grown up in a house dominated by an artistic mother, I learned fast the difference (my mother saw) between art and craft. My mother sketched, painted, and practiced calligraphy. When she lost the use of her right hand to lymphedema after breast cancer treatment, she continued to sketch and later took up sculpture and pottery. At the time she...

Product Review: Vogelzang Boxwood Stove

Dave Nalle — Tue, 6 Jan 2009 21:39:31 EST

It may seem anachronistic, but a simple boxwood stove still has a place in many homes.
In the middle of one of our periodic cold snaps in the unpredictable Texas winter I was reminded of what a good idea it was to purchase a Vogelzang Boxwood Stove a few years ago. The stove is a well-made, compact and handy little unit which fits a need which I suspect we share with many other households perfectly. It may seem anachronistic, but...

Theater/Magic Review (LA): Millennium Magic IX at Theatre West

Robert Machray — Tue, 6 Jan 2009 18:25:45 EST

Zabrecky presents a bizarre and funny magic show for the holidays.
Christmas can be a magical season, so what could be more appropriate than seeing a magic show? For the last nine holiday seasons, Theatre West has put on a weekend of magic, and this year was no exception. Rob Zabrecky, who has been described by the Los Angeles Times as “an institution on LA’s magic scene," put together the event,...

Tanking Economy? Bring Back the Nerds

Lee Zahn — Tue, 6 Jan 2009 05:21:33 EST

In order for us to be prosperous in these times, we will need their strength and conviction.
What can we do with all this doom and gloom about the economy? Do we stop spending money on food and starting growing our own vegetables? Do we jump off the bridge and end it all? Do we walk away from the over refinanced house and live in a trailer park? Or do we just keep on going and hope it will get better in time?The current economic woes and...

Interview: Domingos Afonso Ndedica, World Food Programme, Angola

William Lambers — Tue, 6 Jan 2009 04:57:35 EST

The Government of Angola is now budgeting for a countrywide school feeding program.
Angola is recovering from a 27-year-long civil war that ended in 2002. Twenty-eight percent of this African nation's population is living in extreme poverty. The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) reports that "many communities have little or no access to basic social services." Initiatives to fight poverty, like school feeding, take on a...

Can't Get Pregnant? Update from the Author

Kate C. Harding — Sun, 4 Jan 2009 05:13:42 EST

A cathartic dumping of frustration results in numerous comments and the realization of just how polarizing this issue can be.
On May 25, 2007 I published one of my first articles at Blogcritics. It was a very personal piece called "Can’t Get Pregnant? You are Not Alone", detailing my nearly three-year struggle to get pregnant. It was one of the very first things I wrote for BC and I could not, for the life of me, figure out why I felt so compelled to write...

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Sun, 4 Jan 2009 05:13:42 EST

Facebook Bans the Breast on Behalf of Mankind

Diana Hartman — Sat, 3 Jan 2009 09:16:33 EST

Because of the power it wields, the breast has a unique responsibility and obligation toward its most loyal onlooker.
Who can blame the staff of Facebook for removing any photo of a breastfeeding breast wherein the least bit of nipple and/or areola shows? After all, it’s right there in the U.S. Constitution: neither nipple nor involuntary areola, except as a product of pornography whereof the party shall have been duly aroused, shall exist within view of the...

Exhibition Review: Yves Saint Laurent at The De Young Museum, San Francisco

Terence Clarke — Fri, 2 Jan 2009 04:14:52 EST

High fashion and high art.
The work of most artists is not much recognized. Those who are recognized usually have to wait a while, often a long while, to come into the notoriety they have always been seeking. But in November 1957, when Yves Saint Laurent was 21-years-old, he was named chief fashion designer for the House of Dior, at the time one of the premier couture firms...