‘O Lord, Give Us Faith’: The Anniversary of D-Day and FDR’s Prayer Broadcast to the Nation

‘O Lord, Give Us Faith’: The Anniversary of D-Day and FDR’s Prayer Broadcast to the Nation

Thursday, June 6, marks the 80-year anniversary of D-Day, the day of the greatest military invasion in modern history. Codenamed “Operation Overlord,” D-Day (June 6, 1944) began at 6:30 am when an Allied force of 156,000 troops made up of primarily Americans, Britons, and Canadians landed on five beaches stretching 50 miles along a heavily … Read more

Richard M. Sherman, Oscar-winning songwriter behind Disney hits spanning decades, dead at 95

Richard M. Sherman, Oscar-winning songwriter behind Disney hits spanning decades, dead at 95

Richard M. Sherman, one half of the prolific, award-winning pair of brothers who helped form millions of childhoods by penning the instantly memorable songs for Mary Poppins, The Jungle Book and Chitty Chitty Bang Bang — as well as the most-played tune on Earth, It’s a Small World (After All) — has died. He was 95. Sherman, together with … Read more

Titanic, Lord of the Rings actor Bernard Hill dead at 79

Titanic, Lord of the Rings actor Bernard Hill dead at 79

Actor Bernard Hill, who delivered a rousing cry before leading his people into battle in The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King and went down with the ship as the captain in Titanic, has died. Hill, 79, passed away Sunday morning, agent Lou Coulson said. Hill joined The Lord Of The Rings franchise in the … Read more

The Boy and the Heron has a beautiful, secret backstory

The Boy and the Heron has a beautiful, secret backstory

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