News

21 November 2017

Art review: Ages of Wonder: Scotland’s Art 1540 to Now, Royal Scottish Academy, Edinburgh

21 Nov 2017 14:34 Living by the Sword

The Scottish Academy was founded in 1826, but the rival and better connected Royal Institution for the Promotion of the Fine Arts succeeded in blocking this bunch of mere artists in their quest for official status.

Book review: First Person, by Richard Flanagan

15 Nov 2017 10:34 Living by the Sword

Some novelists are “putters-in”, others “takers-out”. The former drench you with incident and information, and work on a big canvas; the latter value economy, both of words and effects. The alert reader, noting the word “drench”, will recognise which I prefer.

Book review: Icebreaker - A Voyage Far North, by Horatio Clare

15 Nov 2017 10:28 Living by the Sword

Great stories can sometimes be found in the unlikeliest places. This book came about when the author and journalist Horatio Clare was contacted by an old schoolfriend, Pekka Isosomppi, who was working in the press office at the Finnish Embassy in London.

The Barbie Doll Puts on a Hijab from the Fall of 2018

15 Nov 2017 10:06 Sofia News Agency

From autumn next year, the popular Barbie doll will be sold with hijab. This was reported by the American toy maker Mattel, the world news agencies said.

First hijab-wearing Barbie to honor US fencer Ibtihaj Muhammad

13 Nov 2017 21:55 France24.com (en)

American group Mattel unveiled its first ever hijab-wearing Barbie doll Monday in honor of US Olympic fencer Ibtihaj Muhammad, who in 2016 became the first American Olympian to wear a headscarf while competing.

Art reviews: The Vigorous Imagination at the Fine Art Society, Edinburgh and Roger Bilcliffe Gallery, Glasgow | Adrian Wisniewski at Glasgow Print Studio

13 Nov 2017 10:29 Living by the Sword

Thirty years ago, The Vigorous Imagination at the Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art in Edinburgh was a landmark show. Broadly, the artists involved were a generation: the oldest, Joseph Urie, was born in 1947; the youngest, Stephen Conroy in 1964.

Music preview: Jaimeo Brown prepares to bring his Transcendence Trio to Dundee Jazz Festival

13 Nov 2017 10:19 Living by the Sword

The weary slugging of a Mississippi chain gang, the slam of a cell door, the lonely lament of the blues… Despite these signifiers of oppression, servitude and injustice, all of them woven into the mesmerising audio collages created by Jaimeo Brown and his Transcendence project...

Review: Citroen C3 Aircross

11 Nov 2017 23:41 Living by the Sword

Another week, another sports utility vehicle. This time it’s the C3 Aircross from Citroen, a pumped up version of January’s C3 hatch – the car that pioneered the factory-fit traffic camera. It is classed as a compact SUV ...

Interview: artistic director Lu Kemp on what’s in store at the newly renovated Perth Theatre

08 Nov 2017 10:33 Living by the Sword

Come out of the main entrance of Perth Concert Hall, turn right along Mill Street, walk a couple of hundred yards; and there, in less than a fortnight now – at the heart of what’s becoming Perth’s “cultural quarter” ...

Uncommon Type: Some Stories, by Tom Hanks

08 Nov 2017 10:25 Living by the Sword

With the ethics of Hollywood film-making being seriously questioned in the wake of the Harvey Weinstein scandal, the golden era of tinsel town seems a very long time ago. But grotesque behaviour by movie moguls - as anyone who has read Kenneth Anger’s classic Hollywood Babylon can attest ...

No limbs, no problem for Italy's fencing firebrand

08 Nov 2017 03:10 France24.com (en)

Paralympic fencer Beatrice Vio is a veritable sports icon in Italy, a model of courage whose battle against disease, infectious enthusiasm and prowess have won her legions of loyal fans.