Arts & Life

Books
Arts

Three Books To Light Your Fire For Valentine's Day

10:03am February 14, 2015

If you've been comfortably paired up for years now, our romance guru Bobbi Dumas recommends three Valentine's Day reads that'll help give you the spark and thrill of first love all over again.

Roseanne Roseannadanna (Gilda Radner) with Jane Curtin in 1979.

Arts

See What 'Saturday Night Live' Looks Like The Rest Of The Week

7:17am February 14, 2015

by Lynn Neary

Saturday Night Live celebrates its 40th anniversary on Sunday. Throughout, the show's two photographers have been flies on the wall, capturing read-throughs, rehearsals and back-stage shenanigans.

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The finite romance in The Last Five Years is "haunting, bittersweet" says NPR film critic Bob Mondello.

Arts

Love From A To Z — And Back Again — In 'The Last Five Years'

6:29pm February 13, 2015

by Bob Mondello

The Last Five Years is a musical romance with a unique storytelling twist. NPR film critic Bob Mondello says the quirks and tricks have him singing the movie's praises, despite a flaw or two.

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Books
Arts

Sizzling-Hot Reads For Those Cold Winter Nights

6:29pm February 13, 2015

If the cold and snow has you feeling, well, frigid, here's the solution. Five titillating titles that'll put you in a steamy frame of mind.

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Arts

If You Strip The Bondage, '50 Shades' Is A Conventional Love Story

1:52pm February 13, 2015

by David Edelstein

The film, based on E.L. James' best-selling novel, has been denounced by decency brigades. But it's a surprisingly mild, corny romance that affirms traditional values: It's Jane Eyre with ropes.

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A drawing of two clinking martini glasses.

Arts

Pop Culture Happy Hour: 'Jupiter Ascending' And On-Screen Chemistry

10:21am February 13, 2015

by Linda Holmes

On this week's show: the Wachowskis' new kooky space adventure, the power of chemistry, and what's making us happy this week.

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Arts
Economy

If Apple Made iMilk And Nike Sold Fruit: Designer Groceries As Art

6:57pm February 12, 2015

by Maria Godoy

A designer has reimagined a host of everyday edibles as high-end grocery items. It's a project that explores how branding influences our purchases — and where the ethical boundaries lie for designers.

Even Leila Dunbar (right), Antiques Roadshow appraiser, was overwhelmed by the collection. "It is the greatest archive that I have ever had at the Roadshow," she says.

Arts

'Holy Smokes!': Rare Baseball Card Collection Hits Home Run

6:50pm February 12, 2015

by NPR Staff

It's a sports appraisal record for PBS' Antiques Roadshow: A collection of memorabilia from the 1870s was valued at $1 million. The owner had been expecting more like $5,000 or $10,000.

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Sam Taylor-Johnson directs Jamie Dorn and Dakota Johnson on the set of Fifty Shades of Grey.

Arts

'Fifty Shades' Director Explores Passion, Performance And Control

6:26pm February 12, 2015

by Neda Ulaby

Fifty Shades of Grey is expected to be a blockbuster — and the director, Sam Taylor-Johnson, is a relative unknown outside of the art world, where she's a star. NPR's Neda Ulaby has a profile.

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"The age of five is the most philosophical age you can be." - Mo Willems. His latest Elephant and Piggie adventure is Waiting Is Not Easy!

Arts

Mo Willems: 'I Want My Books To Be Played'

3:55pm February 12, 2015

The author of such beloved children's book characters as the Pigeon, Elephant and Piggie explains why he writes for people "who have not yet learned how to be embarrassed."

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