Jan 16 2026
Born on January 16, 1923, Anthony Hecht became one of the most accomplished American poets of the generation shaped by the Second World War, combining extraordinary formal control with an unflinching awareness of cruelty, mortality, memory, and moral responsibility. His poems could be elegant, learned, witty, musical, and technically intricate, yet beneath their polished surfaces …
Jan 07 2026
Few national cinemas have influenced world filmmaking as deeply as Japan’s. From the precise domestic dramas of Yasujirō Ozu and the sweeping samurai films of Akira Kurosawa to Godzilla, Studio Ghibli, J-horror, yakuza thrillers, experimental cinema, and the intimate contemporary work of Hirokazu Kore-eda and Ryūsuke Hamaguchi, Japanese filmmakers have repeatedly reshaped what movies can …
Jan 07 2026
Spanish-language cinema stretches across continents, cultures, political histories, and radically different filmmaking traditions. A movie made in Franco-era Spain may have little in common with one from revolutionary Cuba, 1970s Chile, contemporary Argentina, rural Peru, or Mexico City—yet together these films form one of the richest bodies of cinema in the world. Directors working in …
Dec 30 2025
The beginning of a new year has a way of making possibility feel a little closer. A fresh calendar invites us to imagine what we would like to welcome into our lives, what we are ready to leave behind, and how we might move through the months ahead with greater purpose. While resolutions often focus …
Dec 30 2025
There are some meals that simply belong to a holiday, and in many Southern homes, black-eyed peas belong on the table when New Year’s Day arrives. Add smoky pork and a warm wedge of golden cornbread, and you have a hearty meal built around comfort, tradition, and the hope of good things in the year …
Dec 29 2025
When midnight approaches on December 31, people around the world welcome the New Year with much more than countdowns and fireworks. For generations, families and communities have marked the transition with foods, colors, gifts, rituals, and playful superstitions intended to invite prosperity, health, happiness, travel, love, or simply a fresh beginning. Some customs are centuries …
Dec 28 2025
New Year’s Eve has everything a movie needs: anticipation, crowded parties, unexpected reunions, romantic possibilities, regrets about the year that is ending, and the irresistible feeling that life might somehow look different when the clock strikes twelve. It is no wonder filmmakers have returned to December 31 again and again. Some movies unfold almost entirely …
Dec 25 2025
Crisp on the outside, wonderfully airy inside, and delicate enough to seem almost weightless, homemade meringue cookies are one of those desserts that look far more complicated than they actually are. The ingredient list could hardly be simpler. Egg whites and sugar form the foundation, while cream of tartar helps stabilize the whipped whites and …
Dec 23 2025
On December 23, 1962, Trần Anh Hùng was born in Đà Nẵng, South Vietnam. Over the decades that followed, he would become one of the most internationally acclaimed filmmakers of Vietnamese origin, creating an unusually elegant body of work in which food, memory, desire, family, silence, landscape, and the smallest gestures of everyday life can …
Dec 22 2025
Ever wondered what Mother Nature would call you? Discover your hidden nature persona with our delightful online quiz, “What’s Your Nature Name”! This entertaining game is perfect for nature enthusiasts looking for a quick dose of fun. Here’s how it works: simply take your first name’s initial and birth month, and voilà – your unique …
