Domingo Germán, seen here in 2019, pitched a perfect game for the New York Yankees on June 28. Photograph by Keith Allison.
The Supreme Court made what critics would describe as some imperfect decisions in the week that New York Yankees pitcher Domingo Germán pitched a perfect game. While the two would seem unrelated, they both tell us a great deal about the unfairness and seeming randomness of life.
Read MoreThis head of Cleopatra — called the Berlin Cleopatra for its placement in Germany’s Altes Museum — depicts the last of the Ptolemaic rulers as a traditional Macedonian matron with Hellenistic features, a Macedonian diadem and her hair in a chignon. It was made in Rome about the time of her visits there in 46 to 44 B.C.
The latest tizzy in the culture wars pits Egypt against the Netflix series “Queen Cleopatra,” which bowed Wednesday, May 10, starring a Black actress, Adele James, in the title role. Many Egyptians and some historians have taken exception with this, pointing out that Cleopatra was the last of the Ptolemaic rulers of Egypt and as such was of Greco-Macedonian descent. But I think with a little imagination and a lot of understanding we can have a Black Cleopatra and an historically accurate one as well.
Read MoreWith the President’s Award, presented to me by ArtsWestchester at the Brae Burn County Club in Purchase, New York, on Wednesday, April 19. Photograph by Westfair Communications Inc.
ArtsWestchester’s Arts Award Celebration – held Wednesday, April 19, at Brae Burn Country Club in Purchase, New York – was a moving affair and not just because I was lucky enough to be chosen for its President’s Award for my 43 years in covering the arts.
What made it moving was to see how the 10 honorees, some 300 attendees and nine vendors continue to find the arts a transformative experience in their lives and how the White Plains-based ArtsWestchester, perhaps the flagship arts council in New York state, continues to act locally but think globally.
Read MoreA 2009 Miami Open match between Juan Del Potro and Rafael Nadal. Photograph by Alex Lee.
There is no March Madness for Novak Djokovic.
The un-Covid vaccinated world No. 1 isn’t playing in the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, California, (otherwise known as the Indian Wells Masters) this week, and he won’t be playing in the Miami Open (March 19 through April 2), this despite appeals from notables like Billie Jean King that went all the way to the White House and from tournament directors, who, faced with the retirement of Roger Federer and Serena Williams and injury to Rafael Nadal, need all the superstars they can get.
Read MoreWith my books prior to Westfair Communications Inc.’s first literary luncheon, “History: Fiction and Nonfiction,” held Feb. 23 in White Plains, New York. Photograph by Sarafina Pavlak/Westfair.
There are few things in life more satisfying than living the life you see in your head. Such moments are rare, but when they happen, you have to savor them. Such was the case Thursday, Feb. 23, as Westfair Communications Inc. presented its first literary luncheon in White Plains, New York.
“History: Fiction and Nonfiction” was the theme of “Literary Westfair,” featuring Mary Calvi’s new “If a Poem Could Live and Breathe: A Novel of Teddy Roosevelt’s First Love” (St. Martin’s Press) – about his first wife, the former Alice Hathaway Lee – and John A. Lipman’s biography “Alfred B. DelBello: His Life and Times” (Atmosphere Press). As Westfair’s chief cultural writer and luxury editor, I had a lot of skin in this game, serving as moderator and one of the authors who would be reading.
Read MoreI’ll be reading from my new historical thriller (JMS Books) at Westfair Communications Inc.’s first literary luncheon, Feb. 23 in White Plains, New York, and March 25 at the Greenburgh Public Library in Greenburgh, New York.
I pause here from my usual ruminating — and venting — to mention several upcoming appearances involving my new historical thriller “Riddle Me This” (JMS Books), part of “The Games Men Play” series, as well as my day job.
Read MoreWhat is it about Colorado?
First, there was the baker who didn’t want to make wedding cakes for gay couples. He told the U.S. Supreme Court that it violated his artistic and religious freedoms.
Now we have Lorie Smith, a Colorado website designer, who’s making pretty much the same argument before the court.
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