The 70th edition of the Berlinale is living up to its reputation as the most political of festivals, wirh films taking direct swipes at Silicon Valley and the gig economy, the failure of men to deal with women as equals and the aftermath of slavery in Brazil. "My p--sy's in the Cloud" -- on a…Read more Skewering Silicon Valley at the 70th Berlinale
I Love Paris in the Strike Time…
One of the downsides of flying into Paris for a short holiday during the longest transit strike in the city's history -- 36 days as of Jan. 9, and counting -- is that the lack of buses and the Metro forces you to walk a lot. The upside is that walking around a city you…Read more I Love Paris in the Strike Time…
Can America Live up to FDR’s Legacy?
A visit to the Hudson River Valley homestead of Franklin Delano Roosevelt during the recent televised debates among contenders for the presidential nomination of Roosevelt's Democratic Party was a reminder of the nation's great debt to the 32nd president of the United States. FDR's family home, in Hyde Park, NY, just north of Poughkeepsie,…Read more Can America Live up to FDR’s Legacy?
Joyce and the Hungarian connection
Sunday, 16 June 2019 Szombathely might seem an unlikely place to stage a Bloomsday celebration, but James Joyce was careful to weave the Magyar city into Ulysses’s narrative, writes Michael Roddy By Michael Roddy Jun 16, 2019 About a dozen of us, mostly Irish, mostly cold, stood on the wet and windswept main square of…Read more Joyce and the Hungarian connection
Lyin’ Rhymes for Lyin’ Times
Thirty days hath September, April, June and November. All the rest have thirty-one Except for February Which has none. (By Betsy de Vos) Jack and Jill went up the hill to fetch a pail of water. Jack fell down and broke his crown, And Sarah said it never happened. Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall…Read more Lyin’ Rhymes for Lyin’ Times
Weird Travel Tales: Octopeople
It was just after noon, the sun was getting hotter. A few hours earlier, the walk from the small seaside town to the ferry had been long but bearable. Not now. Walking back to the hotel in the broiling sunlight, after visiting the beach on the other side of the lagoon, promised to be hellish.…Read more Weird Travel Tales: Octopeople
En Route: A trip to the past on Ile d’Yeu, hidden gem off France’s west coast
I want to sing the praises of the little known (outside of France) island of Ile d'Yeu, off the coast of Vendee. But before getting to the usual trip bumph, a visit there in late July, early August was a chance to reconnect with a family I stayed with on the island...almost 50 years ago!…Read more En Route: A trip to the past on Ile d’Yeu, hidden gem off France’s west coast
