Daniel Woodrell, the acclaimed author of “Winter’s Bone” and other American novels that captured the essence of the Missouri Ozarks he called home, died Friday. The 72-year-old’s wife, Katie Estill-Woodrell, told the New York Times that he died at their home in West Plains, Missouri, after a battle against pancreatic cancer. He previously beat colon … Read more
That’s so metal. A British pub known as the “birthplace of heavy metal” — where Ozzy Osbourne’s Black Sabbath first wailed on their guitars in public — has been designated an important historic building after 15,000 people signed a petition calling for the building and surrounds to be saved from redevelopment. Birmingham, England’s scruffy second city, … Read more
People who like to read action/adventure books are the most generous tippers, according to new research. A survey of 2,000 Americans who read frequently looked at the personality differences between lovers of different genres and found that adventure readers are the likeliest to tip over 20%. Unsurprisingly, romance readers “always” or “often” daydream the most … Read more
Music is medicine and alongside mourning, marriage, dancing and language one of our sacred cultural universals. Micheal Bonshor, professor of Music Psychology at the University of Sheffield speaks to the profoundly healing power of song, “The neurological pathways which process sound affect the brain’s limbic system, which is responsible for emotional responses, memory and behavior. It … Read more
Joel McHale takes a walk on the wild side in the “Animal Control” — which doesn’t reinvent the wheel but is entertaining nonetheless. The Fox sitcom, premiering Feb. 16 (9 p.m.), was created by Rob Greenberg and Bob Fisher (“The Moodys,” “Wedding Crashers”) and follows the personal and professional lives of group of Animal Control … Read more
Feeling under the weather? Try the rom-com remedy — three in five Americans say it’s their go-to movie genre when down for the count. That’s according to a new poll of 2,000 millennial parents of kids ages 4-12, where they’re also watching action and adventure movies (37%) and series like “Harry Potter” or the “Hunger … Read more
CNN — Depending on which music pundit you ask, jazz “died” when its 1920s heyday ended. Others believe jazz music lost its luster when the 1960s – and rock music – rolled around. But Ramsey Lewis, an inventive jazz pianist and one of the nation’s most respected artists in the genre, continued to find novel … Read more