Jan 22 2023
Route 66, often referred to as the Mother Road or the Main Street of America, is a historic highway that stretches from Chicago, Illinois, to Santa Monica, California. Established in 1926, this iconic road played a significant role in the development of the United States, particularly during the Great Depression and the post-World War II …
Dec 21 2022
The Night Before Christmas (1951) was directed by the prolific Soviet animation duo of Valentina Brumberg and Zinaida Brumberg, who were also known as the “Brumberg sisters” as well as the “grandmothers of Russian animation.” Some of their most well known films are Little Red Riding Hood and Ivashka and Baba-Yaga. Not your typical Christmas story, it begins …
Nov 16 2022
Made in 1928, Samoyed Boy was one of the first films directed by the Brumberg sisters, along with directors Nikolai Khodataev and Olga Chodatajewa. It is the story of a boy who fights corruption in his village, then goes on to study in Moscow. It may be best known for its innovative animation; the mesmerizing waves are stunning …
Nov 12 2022
DJ and radio host John Peel’s funeral was held on this day, November 12, 2004, at St Edmundsbury Cathedral in the town of Bury St Edmunds in Suffolk, England. Among the 1000-plus attendees were many artists, including Pulp’s Jarvis Cocker, The White Stripes, and Undertones singer Feargal Sharkey. His brother Alan Ravenscroft read a eulogy …
Sep 18 2022
On this day September 18, 1996, Julian Lennon made the winning bid of just over $39,000 (£21,000) at Sotheby’s in London for the recording notes for the song “Hey Jude,” which Paul McCartney wrote for young Julian to comfort and encourage him during his parents’ divorce. Originally titled “Hey Jules,” Paul McCartney comments on the song’s …
Sep 14 2022
Between 1966 and1967, writer and director Sergei Bondarchuk’s War and Peace (Война и мир) was released in four parts; a seven-hour-plus long adaptation of Tolstoy’s epic novel depicting the lives of several aristocratic families during the time of Napoleon’s invasion of Russia. The stunningly beautiful film skillfully portrays personal stories amidst the political backdrop. Highly …
Sep 05 2022
Film director, screenwriter, documentary filmmaker, actor, and novelist Werner Herzog was born on this day September 5, 1942 in Munich, Germany. Herzog is well regarded as one of the greatest film-makers of our time, best known for the films Aguirre, the Wrath of God, Nosferatu the Vampyre, Fitzcarraldo, Little Dieter Needs to Fly, Grizzly Man, and Cave of Forgotten Dreams. Earlier …
Aug 04 2022
Today is the birthday of American Modernist artist Charley Harper, born August 4, 1922 on a farm in Frenchton, West Virginia. He is best known for his unique self-described “minimal realism” artistic interpretation of American wildlife. After growing up on the farm, he went to the Art Academy of Cincinnati, where he met his wife, Edie Mckee, …
Jul 17 2022
Today is the birthday of Aleksandr Petrov, the Russian animator born July 17, 1957, in the village of Prechistoye. He is known for his unique technique of creating animations from pastel oil paintings on glass, using his fingertips to paint for added texture. Petrov’s first animation was made in 1988, Marathon, and was a tribute …
Jun 27 2022
The first image that comes to mind when anyone mentions Tiki to me, is the famous Walt Disney Enchanted Tiki Room. There are three such rooms. One is located in Disneyland in Anaheim, California, and the other is located at Disneyworld in Orlando, Florida, and the third is located in Tokyo, Japan at the Tokyo …
