
When Heartbreak Becomes Deadly
Is it possible to die from a broken heart? Absolutely, broken heart syndrome can definitely be fatal. Are we seeing more cases of broken heart syndrome during the Covid-19 pandemic? Yes, there has been an uptick in cases of the syndrome since the virus has become a worldwide killer itself. Dr. Ilan Wittstein defined the […]
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Even at 40, The Shining still Frightens and Puzzles
Film director Stanley Kubrick was not into power lunches. He didn’t use focus groups for ideas, nor did he chase box office bucks with mindless pandering. Reclusive, eccentric, and removed from the Hollywood ethos, Kubrick was a visionary whose work is fresh today because it was created with complete artistic authenticity. This year marks the […]
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Spending a Quarantine Holiday with the Stars
Is the Coronavirus stifling your Holly Jolly this year? Waiting in line to be tested, avoiding large family gatherings, and settling for Zoom instead of real hugs? Not exactly comfy-cozy? It’s time to recall the words of painter Dorothea Tanning: “Art has always been the raft onto which we climb to save our sanity.” Best yet, […]
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Rituals Impact Grief Recovery after the Loss of a Loved One
“Dying, a man may be loved, hated, mourned, missed; but once dead, he becomes the chief ornament of a complicated and formal social celebration.” These words from author John Steinbeck are cynical, but revelatory: across cultures, in many different ways, we embrace rituals at the time of death. And, we bestow them freely upon the deceased, whatever […]
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Best Recordings by the First Lady of Song, Ella Fitzgerald
The inscription on Ella Fitzgerald’s grave marker at the Inglewood Park Cemetery in Los Angeles is unambiguous. It reads: “The First Lady of Song.” If anything, this might be an understatement. “She’s one of the purest examples of God in art,” Hamilton star Leslie Odom, Jr. proclaimed. Bing Crosby said, “Man, woman or child, […]
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