Art & Culture

An actor known for his roles in the television comedies Bob’s Burgers and Arrested Development was sentenced on Monday to one year in prison for his part in a mob’s attack on the U.S. Capitol nearly four years ago. Jay Johnston, 56, of Los Angeles, joined other rioters in a “heave ho” push against police … Read more

This time of year, I often run across articles proclaiming Halloween a modern form of the pagan Irish holiday of Samhain – pronounced SAW-en. But as a historian of Ireland and its medieval literature, I can tell you: Samhain is Irish. Halloween isn’t. The Irish often get credit – or blame – for the bonfires, … Read more

The year is 50 BC. Gaul is entirely occupied by the Romans. Well, not entirely. One small village of indomitable Gauls still holds out against the invaders. So begins the Asterix comic series, which positions Julius Caesar as the power-lusting dictator of the mighty Roman Empire who conquered all of Gaul. All except, of course, … Read more

It’s the score that hooks you first in Birth: that light, sprightly, slightly anxious jitter of woodwind that trills over the film’s opening shot, as the camera tracks a man’s morning run through a snow-carpeted Central Park. For a while, the music follows the pace of his movement, lending this ordinary activity an otherworldly lilt … Read more