Culture Information
Literature
Charles Dickens: The Most Famous Author You've Never Read -- It seems like every year someone’s got a new made-for-TV version of “A Christmas Carol” coming out, and every year I wonder the same thing: how many of the viewers even know it’s a book, let alone a great book by a great author. Charles Dickens captured the essence of Victorian England better than any other author. Anyone that enjoys “A Christmas Carol” certainly would do well to pick up the great book behind it or one of Dickens’ other works.
The Writings of George Orwell -- Most people that are familiar with Orwell at all have heard of 1984. In this classic dystopian novel, Orwell explores a totalitarian state that isn’t content with just ruling its subjects; it also has to control their thoughts. Read just as a story, 1984 is frightening. The idea that a government, by controlling language can reign in—and even eliminate—thoughts it doesn’t like by simply eliminating the words and concepts needed to think about them isn’t very uplifting in the best of times. Now add in a real world where one U.S. President claims that sex isn’t sex and another insists that WMD are still somewhere to be found Iraq, but that they don’t really matter anymore anyway, and you start to see the power of Orwell’s vision.
Holocaust Literature -- With the upswing in far right politics, Holocaust deniers, and just plain complacency, I personally think it’s always a good time revisit Holocaust literature, but that’s another story. What makes this genre so compelling is obviously the tragedy, but more that that it is about the strength of the authors who each, in their own way, ensured that their lives and their stories would not be extinguished.
Art
The Art Institute of Chicago -- Of the country’s great art museums, the Art Institute of Chicago is probably the most often overlooked. While the Art Institute certainly is dwarfed by the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York and the National Gallery of Art in Washington D.C. in terms of scope, to mistake its smaller scale for inferiority would be a serious mistake. The Art Institute of Chicago is located right n the heart of downtown Chicago on Michigan Avenue. Getting there is easy.
History
Martin Luther King, Jr. Atlanta Tour -- The Martin Luther King, Jr. Historic Site in Atlanta contains several buildings and exhibits that commemorate the life and work of Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr. The first building on the tour is his Birth Home Museum at 501 Auburn Avenue, NE in the Atlanta suburb of Sweet Auburn. King and his family lived in the home for the first twelve years of his life, and it is located just two blocks from the church where his grandfather, father, and finally he led. Today, the Victorian home is completely restored and contains a living museum of the time the family spent under its' roof. If you plan to visit the home, you must tour it with a National Park Service ranger.
Pop Culture
The Knitting Craze -- Where did this come from? So, now knitting is "cool." That's so funny, I just have to wonder where this stuff comes from. I've been knitting since I was a little girl, and I even made sweaters, ponchos, and a whole bunch of stuff before I turned 20. Now, all of a sudden, knitting is the latest craze, and everybody is doing it. There's even a show, "Knitty Gritty" on the DIY network.
Dance: The Emerging Popularity of Irish Step Dancing -- Although the modern form of Irish step dancing dates back to the mid 1700’s, it has only become widely recognized in the United States during the last twenty years. Fueled by the enormous popularity of the dance spectaculars Riverdance and Lord of the Dance, Irish step dancing has recently seen a surge in participation, particularly among children.
