Lev Raphael's Blog, page 36
August 16, 2015
A Taste of Philadelphia
I hadn't been to Philadelphia in so long that I couldn't even pin down the date, but when I heard about the Impressionists exhibition at the Art Museum, and its focus on their indefatigable cheerleader and art dealer Paul Durand-Ruel, I knew I had to go. This was bound to be something different.
It absolutely was. I'd been enjoying those painters since elementary school on and Sunday visits with my parents to the Metropolitan in New York, but I had no idea that Durand-Ruel worked so feveri...
It absolutely was. I'd been enjoying those painters since elementary school on and Sunday visits with my parents to the Metropolitan in New York, but I had no idea that Durand-Ruel worked so feveri...
August 14, 2015
What's With Jeb Bush's Nickname?
In a recent GOP debate Jeb Bush said that the people of Florida trusted him so much they called him "Jeb."
That was news to me. I'd never known "Jeb" meant trustworthy in any language on earth. Then I realized that in his stumbling way he was talking about his nickname, though it still didn't add up. Since when does using a nickname imply trust?
And what kind of nickname is Jeb anyway? What's it short for?
Well, it could be short for the Hebrew that translates into "Jebediah," which mea...
That was news to me. I'd never known "Jeb" meant trustworthy in any language on earth. Then I realized that in his stumbling way he was talking about his nickname, though it still didn't add up. Since when does using a nickname imply trust?
And what kind of nickname is Jeb anyway? What's it short for?
Well, it could be short for the Hebrew that translates into "Jebediah," which mea...
August 11, 2015
London Calling (In Philly!)
Almost ten years ago when I was on a British book tour for my novel
The German Money
, I had a free afternoon in London which I spent at the amazing Tate Modern. It's London's most unusual museum, built from a former power station and now the home of post-1900 British art and modern and contemporary art from around the world.
I didn't know what to expect as I entered the cavernous hall which originally housed turbines, but I was suitably overwhelmed and transported. I'd grown up in New York...
I didn't know what to expect as I entered the cavernous hall which originally housed turbines, but I was suitably overwhelmed and transported. I'd grown up in New York...
Museum Time Travel
Almost ten years ago when I was on a British book tour for my novel
The German Money
, I had a free afternoon in London which I spent at the amazing Tate Modern. It's London's most unusual museum, built from a former power station and now the home of post-1900 British art and modern and contemporary art from around the world.
I didn't know what to expect as I entered the cavernous hall which originally housed turbines, but I was suitably overwhelmed and transported. I'd grown up in New York...
I didn't know what to expect as I entered the cavernous hall which originally housed turbines, but I was suitably overwhelmed and transported. I'd grown up in New York...
August 8, 2015
Missing Trump's Danger by a Mile
Novelist Walter Kirn tweeted after this week's GOP debate that
Okay. If that's yet another high culture slam on Millenials (and their beloved selfies), can we please have a national moratorium on mentioning either or both in tweets, blogs, essays and Op-Eds? Enough already.
But "petty"? Seriously? There's nothing petty about Trump. His ego is gargantuan and narcissism hardly...
"Trump is simply channeling the bruised petty enraged narcissism that is the natural condition of Selfie Nation."
Okay. If that's yet another high culture slam on Millenials (and their beloved selfies), can we please have a national moratorium on mentioning either or both in tweets, blogs, essays and Op-Eds? Enough already.
But "petty"? Seriously? There's nothing petty about Trump. His ego is gargantuan and narcissism hardly...
Missing Trump by a Mile
Novelist Walter Kirn tweeted after this week's GOP debate that
Okay. If that's yet another high culture slam on Millenials and selfies, can we call for a national moratorium on mentioning either or both in tweets, blogs, essays and Op-Eds? Enough already.
But "petty"? Seriously? There's nothing petty about Trump. His ego is gargantuan and narcissism hardly describes it.
T...
"Trump is simply channeling the bruised petty enraged narcissism that is the natural condition of Selfie Nation."
Okay. If that's yet another high culture slam on Millenials and selfies, can we call for a national moratorium on mentioning either or both in tweets, blogs, essays and Op-Eds? Enough already.
But "petty"? Seriously? There's nothing petty about Trump. His ego is gargantuan and narcissism hardly describes it.
T...
European Vacation -- in Philadelphia!
None of the friends I told about going to see Philadelphia's Rodin Museum this month knew it was there. I confess I hadn't either until fairly recently, but once I did, I was determined to visit.
On my first trip to Paris years ago, French friends had recommended the Rodin Museum along with other small museums like the Picasso, the Cluny and the Carnavalet as places that I would love for their size and lack of crazy crowds. They were right and I'd suggest starting at the Rodin for its setti...
On my first trip to Paris years ago, French friends had recommended the Rodin Museum along with other small museums like the Picasso, the Cluny and the Carnavalet as places that I would love for their size and lack of crazy crowds. They were right and I'd suggest starting at the Rodin for its setti...
European Vacation--in Philadelphia!
None of the friends I told about going to see Philadelphia's Rodin Museum this month knew it was there. I confess I hadn't either until fairly recently, but once I did, I was determined to visit.
On my first trip to Paris years ago, French friends had recommended the Rodin Museum along with other small museums like the Picasso, the Cluny, and the Carnavalet as places that I would love for their size and lack of crazy crowds. They were right and I'd suggest starting at the Rodin for its sett...
On my first trip to Paris years ago, French friends had recommended the Rodin Museum along with other small museums like the Picasso, the Cluny, and the Carnavalet as places that I would love for their size and lack of crazy crowds. They were right and I'd suggest starting at the Rodin for its sett...
August 4, 2015
The First Time I Saw Paris
On my first trip to Paris in 1988, I had a long list of things to do and see, and the Louvre was number one on that list. The Mona Lisa! The Winged Victory! The Venus de Milo!
I didn't get to the Louvre for days. Each morning after a good night's sleep and a delicious breakfast at our Place Vendôme hotel (which is now way out of our price range), it receded in importance in the face of what was really significant: Paris itself was a series of art works in its vistas and architecture. It prov...
I didn't get to the Louvre for days. Each morning after a good night's sleep and a delicious breakfast at our Place Vendôme hotel (which is now way out of our price range), it receded in importance in the face of what was really significant: Paris itself was a series of art works in its vistas and architecture. It prov...
August 2, 2015
Reading "To Kill a Mockingbird" as an Adult
When the first Hobbit movie was coming out, I re-read the novel I loved as a kid to reacquaint myself with the story and was more enthralled than I expected to be.
The wry voice was something I missed as a twelve-year-old taken by the adventure and fantasy, and I reconnected immediately with what moved me most the first time: Bilbo's resourcefulness in fooling Gollum and fooling the dragon. In each case, the small, clever Hobbit outwits a fierce enemy-what a treat that must have been for a b...
The wry voice was something I missed as a twelve-year-old taken by the adventure and fantasy, and I reconnected immediately with what moved me most the first time: Bilbo's resourcefulness in fooling Gollum and fooling the dragon. In each case, the small, clever Hobbit outwits a fierce enemy-what a treat that must have been for a b...
