“In the theatre there are 1,500 cameras rolling at the same time- in the cinema, only one,” as quoted by Orson Welles, the prolific director of the most studied film of all time, Citizen Kane. Within the last century cinema has grown from pioneering silent films into orchestrated musicals, “spaghetti westerns” and has taken us […]
Continue readingThe cliché goes that “a picture is worth a thousand words,” but some photographs eschew any such numeric limitation and go on talking to us forever; certain photo portraits have that rare power. Far more than pictorial representations of celebrated or instantly recognizable figures, they capture so much more, seeming to encapsulate not simply the […]
Continue readingThe Mafia. The name alone conjures shadowy images of underworld activity – debts and allegiances, honor and respect, family, power, and death. Add to that the popular cinematic exploits of Hollywood Mafioso as portrayed by Brando, De Niro, Pacino et al, and there is a romanticism associated with ‘the men of honor’ that is difficult […]
Continue readingPaul of Tarsus Saul of Tarsus, a.k.a. Paul the Apostle, Paul of Tarsus [?-65 c.e.] was a Hellenistic Jew and student of Gamaliel the Elder who served as enforcer for the Pharisaic Sanhedrin against the apostate Christian sect following the crucifixion of Jesus. Around 33 c.e. he experienced a dramatic conversion experience while on the […]
Continue readingImage: Eddie Adams Popular photography as we know it was presented to the public in the 1840s. It was proposed as the ultimate portrayal of reality and the eternal confinement of history – unlike art or prose, photographs are not easily altered. They have been used to depict the terrors and truths of war, to […]
Continue readingPeople around the world have been smoking marijuana for thousands of years while also using the hemp plant for everything from fabric and rope to ethanol fuel. Unfortunately, somewhere along the way, a man with a bit of power and enough determination decided pot was wicked, evil and narcotic. He moved mountains to make it […]
Continue readingWith so many rumours about what is and isn’t legal when driving, it can be hard to separate the facts from the fiction. This often leads people to waste concentration worrying about the open sandwich on the front seat instead of paying due attention to the road. So insurance company Endsleigh have put together a […]
Continue readingImage Source From the mountains of China to the warm waters of the Caribbean, sinkholes pockmark the surface of our planet. These phenomena – which almost make the Earth look as if it’s being devoured from within – resemble vertical caves and are home to a plethora of exciting discoveries, including unique floating islands, strange […]
Continue readingWhen the dying tyrant Nero proclaimed on his death bed, “Oh, what an artist that perishes in me!” his remarks revealed more than just the arrogance of one of history’s darkest figures. They also exposed the almost immutable cultural connection between art and great suffering — between the artist and the sufferer. Here are our […]
Continue readingAtheism is generating quite a lot of attention these days. Prominent atheists are getting the word out about their views in increasing numbers and generating lots of public debate on the proper place of religion in governments and societies in the modern world. And now more than ever, atheists have been able to network together […]
Continue reading