News & Topics

  As one of the Michaelangelo works at the Vatican that have just undergone a $4 million restoration, a critical debate is brewing over “The Crucifixion of Saint Peter” and the naughty bits of the martyred saint. You step into the Pauline Chapel at Saint Peter’s Basilica in Rome, and there he is, twisting his neck and shoulders to lock ... Read More »

It was one of those “I want to go to there” moments — Werner Herzog, perhaps the most mavericky maverick director ever, was convening a one-time-only “Rogue Film School”. It was almost as much as a surprise as the news that the director of “Aguirre: The Wrath of God” and “Grizzly Man” would also be the director of “Bad Lieutenant: ... Read More »

Certainly, he hasn’t been using it lately. Collected when the composer’s composer succumbed to liver failure in 1827 at the age of 57 (let that be a lesson to you drinkers out there), Ludwig van Beethoven’s skull has traveled a long way from his Viennese deathbed to the hands of California businessman Paul Kaufmann, who is now auctioning off the ... Read More »

Almost as much as his work, the myths and legends surrounding Vincent Van Gogh keep him alive and present. We all know the tales: He cut off his ear and mailed it to a prostitute, he fled Paris in mental anguish, and, finally, e shot himself in the chest, standing in a field, an unfinished painting propped on an easel ... Read More »

Hot enough for you?   We’ve heard of room service that offers in-room shabu-shabu cooking, hotels that offer rental dogs to guests, and concierges who can find almost literally anything for patrons (regardless of legality) in quick order. But human bed warmers, currently in use at London Kensington Holiday Inn, bring a whole new level of delightful, bizarre intimacy to ... Read More »

With a population of just a touch over 100,000, you might not expect Gainesville to be hiding a particularly prolific music scene. You’d be wrong. This small corner of Florida has produced members of the Eagles, featured as “Rock City” in a number of tracks by hometown heroes Less Than Jake and been voted by Blender Magazine as the best ... Read More »

Brooklyn punks and TV comics band together for Haitian earthquake relief at popular Gowanus, Brooklyn venue. Read More »

The Flaming Lips are one of those acts known for their wacky stage personas as much as their music. Now you have a chance to see the band’s singer Wayne Coyne like never before, thanks to Google Street View. Head (virtually) to Oklahoma City and you’ll see Coyne sitting outside in a bathtub outside his home next to a sign ... Read More »