Oral narratives are as old as human society. Then, with the advent of the printing press, books entered the mix. By the 20th century, downstream ripples from the industrial revolution had brought easy access to narrative/dramatic entertainment thanks to radio and television. In some households, TV assumed the role of a storytelling babysitter. Photo by Andres Hernandez on Unsplash But I didn’t grow up in such a household. As a young child, I was an outsider to TV culture bec

All art forms are powerful – visual, tactile, auditory, verbal. Art decorates, entertains, sets moods, and inspires deep feelings. And if you learn how a particular work came to be, you’ll discover new levels of resonance. Artists have been moved by beauty, elevated by love, torqued by madness, and changed by life events. Is it any surprise that one of these powerful motivations is revenge for real or perceived injuries or insults? Drop the words “art” and “revenge” into th

If you live in the U.S. or are familiar with American culture, you know that we became a super materialistic society in the mid-20th century. For this we can thank the post-WWII trends of rising income (for some), industrial expansion, and increasingly sophisticated marketing. We’re obsessed with things we want, with upgrading things we have, and – inevitably – with offloading stuff we don’t care about anymore. Way too many of our castoffs end up in landfill. But those of us

Surely you've seen this phenomenon in a suburban neighborhood: • A glass-fronted box on a post • An odd assortment of books inside • Somewhere on the structure, a small plaque proclaiming "Little Free Library" There are lots of these in my neighborhood, each one a favorite place to visit when I’m out walking. How much do you know about them? I was curious, so I did some digging. Our Story Begins… The first Little Free Library was created in 2009 by Todd Bol, a residen

"No one is born hating another person because of the color of his skin or his background or his religion. People must learn to hate, and...