Arts+Culture

Arts+Culture

We Are the Eighth Day, © Melanie Weidner

Faith Matters
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In Woolf's footsteps

May 07, 2012 by Stephanie Paulsell

During spring break I made a pilgrimage. With my husband and my daughter, I traced the path Virginia Woolf took through Italy in 1908.

Music

Pull It Together, by Shannon Stephens

May 17, 2012 reviewed by Steve Thorngate

On her third album, Shan­non Stephens reins in her chamber-folk experimentalism in favor of a bluesy little band that takes her songs to unexpected places. Her sound remains relatively subdued, yet it grooves and pops and even swaggers.

Century Blogs

Preach it, Chef Kimball

May 22, 2012 by Debra Bendis

When the latest issue of Cook’s Illustrated comes through the door at my house, I know better than to grab it. First dibs go to my husband. Unlike me, he won’t just “feast” on the photos of cakes, BBQ ribs and soufflés. He’ll actually read the recipes, select one, shop for ingredients and prepare a meal--and that’s where I come in.

Film

Monsieur Lazhar

Written and directed by Philippe Falardeau

May 21, 2012 reviewed by Steve Vineberg

Movies about education are seldom convincing; their depiction of what goes on in the classroom hardly ever tallies with our own experiences. So the sweet and poignant Quebecois film Monsieur Lazhar is a rare pleasure.

On Art

Rising

May 18, 2012

Sometimes graffiti artists transcend the mere impulse to “make their mark.” In this case, a damaged wall is transformed from a derelict facade into a simple but striking statement. While not everyone would call this art, it is an example of how human creativity can transform what is already there (a broken wall) into something surprising, delightful and even  inspiring. By its anonymity, its use of a “found” surface and the triumphant gesture of the figure, “Rising” can be taken as an urban and contemporary image of resurrection.

—Lois Huey-Heck

Music

A Wasteland Companion

by M. Ward

A Wasteland Companion, by M. Ward

May 18, 2012 reviewed by Steve Thorngate

M. Ward’s solo albums reveal that he surpasses his more-famous collaborators (Conor Oberst, Zooey Deschanel) on all fronts. His sound has a sepia-toned timelessness; it’s both inventive and a whole bunch of kinds of old-fashioned.

Blogging Toward Sunday

Apostolic fate

Acts 1:15–17, 21–26

May 15, 2012 by Katherine Willis Pershey

I was drying dishes and absentmindedly singing the song that had been stuck in my head for days when my husband suddenly came barreling down the staircase and into the kitchen. Looking frantic, he asked me what had happened. We were both confused; he was convinced that I had cried out in pain, and he fully expected to walk in on a grisly cooking incident.

We quickly realized the source of the miscommunication. The song I’d been singing was Lady Gaga’s “Judas,” and I sounded like a lady in distress as I belted out, “Judas, Juda-a-a.”