Arts & Life

Books
Arts

A 'Garden' Full Of Dazzling, Whimsical Tales

10:51am November 18, 2014

by Jason Heller

Young Woman in a Garden brings together 24 previously published short stories by the fantasy fabulist Delia Sherman. Reviewer Jason Heller says it's full of dazzle and heart, with a dark edge.

Vape was chosen as the word of the year for 2014 in part because it provides a window "onto how we define ourselves," says Casper Grathwohl of the Oxford University Press. Here, women exhale vapor clouds during a competition at the Henley Vaporium in Manh

Take It In: 'Vape' Is The Oxford Dictionaries Word Of The Year

10:28am November 18, 2014

by Bill Chappell

The growing popularity of e-cigarettes sparked the notice of the Oxford Dictionaries, which chose "vape" as the word of the year for 2014. It beat out contenders such as "bae" and "normcore."

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Lisa Kudrow plays actress Valerie Cherish in The Comeback.

Arts

A Painful Hollywood Portrait Makes For Great TV On 'The Comeback'

5:58pm November 17, 2014

by Linda Holmes

We chat about the return of the terrific if little-seen Lisa Kudrow show The Comeback, which has resurfaced on HBO for a new season after almost 10 years.

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Introduced, issue #52 of the Fantastic Four as a would-be for, the Black Panther would come to be a long-time ally.

Arts

Marvel's 'Black Panther' Isn't Just Another Black Superhero

5:26pm November 17, 2014

by Charles Pulliam-Moore

The recently announced feature, scheduled for November 2017, may be the first Afrofuturist film with a shot of blockbuster success.

Unlike later incarnations of Batman, the '60s version was tongue-in-cheek.

Arts

Holy Smokes 'Batman,' The '60s Series Is Out On DVD

4:31pm November 17, 2014

by David Bianculli

Various rights issues kept the original Batman from home-video release until now. Young viewers may be surprised by its pop-art sensibility, vibrant colors — and that it was played for laughs.

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Hema Ramaswamy prepares backstage for her performance. She studied with Chitra Venkateswaran (right) for 4 1/2 years in preparation for this recital.

Arts

How Hema Ramaswamy Found Healing Through Traditional Indian Dance

4:11pm November 17, 2014

by Arun Venugopal

Down syndrome and two major surgeries couldn't stop Hema Ramaswamy, who turned to classical Indian dance as a form of artistic and physical healing.

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Charleston Tucker (Katherine Heigl) meets with President Constance Payton (Alfre Woodard).

Arts

'State Of Affairs': Television From The Precise Middle Of The Barrel

2:36pm November 17, 2014

by Linda Holmes

The new spy/political drama starring Katherine Heigl and Alfre Woodard isn't good, but it isn't bad either. That's a problem in television's very competitive landscape.

#ColorFacts: A Weird Little Lesson In Rainbow Order

Arts

For One Artist, Colorblindness Opened Up A World Of Black And White

2:35pm November 17, 2014

by Angela Evancie

After his diagnosis, Peter Milton wasn't about to abandon art; but he did feel he had to abandon color. Today he says he finds black and white to be "fully more elegant than color."

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Books
Arts

Roger Moore: The Man With The Golden Life

1:51pm November 17, 2014

by NPR Staff

Sir Roger Moore has played James Bond more than any other actor; his new memoir, One Lucky Bastard, chronicles a life spent working and laughing with stars — and learning how to kiss from Lana Turner.

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An In-Depth Look At The U.S. Cyber War, The Military Alliance And Its Pitfalls

1:25pm November 17, 2014

In the book @War, Shane Harris reports that U.S. intelligence agencies, sometimes aided by corporations, are trying to dominate cyberspace. It's "changing the Internet in fundamental ways," he says.

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