Phil Donahue, whose pioneering daytime talk show launched a television genre that made household names of Oprah Winfrey, Montel Williams, Ellen DeGeneres and many others, has died. He was 88. NBC’s Today show said Donahue died on Sunday after a long illness. Dubbed “the king of daytime talk,” Donahue was the first to incorporate audience participation in a talk show, … Read more
Documentary filmmaker Morgan Spurlock, an Oscar nominee who ate only at McDonald’s for a month to illustrate the dangers of a fast-food diet, has died. He was 53. Spurlock died Thursday in New York from complications of cancer, according to a statement issued Friday by his family. “It was a sad day, as we said … Read more
There are few figures in American history as mythologized as J. Robert Oppenheimer — in no small part due to the man himself. So building a cohesive story about him — the physicist who helped define an entire scientific field so new and arcane it was called “boys’ physics”; the precocious child-genius who delivered a … Read more
Seiji Ozawa, the Japanese conductor who amazed audiences with the lithe physicality of his performances during three decades at the helm of the Boston Symphony Orchestra, has died, his management office said Friday. He was 88. The internationally acclaimed maestro, with his trademark mop of salt-and-pepper hair, led the BSO from 1973 to 2002, longer … Read more
At a $3-billion toy company in downtown Toronto, kindergarteners file in with parents and siblings, clad in snowsuits and ready to offer their expertise. They pass a toy museum decked out with Paw Patrol toys, Tech Decks, Bakugan and more, and eventually arrive at a small room with a large two-way mirror. Soon, they’ll be … Read more
There’s something Aristotle said in his Poetics about the effective use of metaphor. Boiling it down, he observed that while coming up with metaphors takes genius, overstuffing your story with beautiful — but confusing — symbols doesn’t leave you with a timeless piece of art. Instead, you end up with “nothing but riddles or gibberish.” Apparently, … Read more
