For Julia Roberts, things improve with age
Julia Roberts is sitting on a couch in a Soho hotel when Lucas Hedges bursts in and begins frantically searching for his phone, sending pillows flying. “This is what I say to Finn,” Roberts says, referencing one of her three children as she instructs her 21-year-old co-star. “Where did you go from here, honey?” Roberts’ motherly instincts play a big part of her latest film,... READ MORE
Jewelry designer fuses geometry, color
Local jewelry designer Barbie Levy is looking forward to the annual American Craft Show this February, where she can meet up with customers who seek out her colorful and eye-catching jewelry. “I never thought the jewelry I started designing in college would take my career where it is today,” said the 52-year-old Ellicott City resident. Levy’s popular “Barb-Wire” line of... READ MORE
Prolific African American artist celebrated
The Reginald F. Lewis Museum celebrates the work of the pre-eminent African American artist Romare Bearden in its current exhibition, on view through March 3. “Romare Bearden: Visionary Artist,” organized by the museum and the Romare Bearden Foundation in New York, features more than 70 works in a variety of media that showcase Bearden as one of the most important visual artists of... READ MORE
What are those unusual growths on trees?
During gray, wet periods, Virginia Cooperative Extension offices often receive phone calls from residents concerned about previously unseen growths on tree trunks and branches. Although the growths could be something else, many of them are harmless (but profoundly interesting) lichen (pronounced liken). Covering 8 percent of the earth’s land, lichen are often seen encrusted on rocks... READ MORE
Crafty knitters supply art from the heart
Some years ago, after having foot surgery and teaching herself to knit, Lois Moore spent time knitting, recuperating and volunteering in the library at what was then MCV hospital. She soon found herself teaching knitting to a group of patients who were bused in for chemotherapy and other treatments and needed something to do while they waited for their return ride home. Eventually,... READ MORE
Sad when a long-time marriage dissolves
It had been years since I’d seen my former co-worker Jim, so I didn’t want to start with “How’s your wife?” Maybe she was ill. Maybe she had died. So I trotted out the old standard: “What’s new?” “Oh, not much,” said Jim. His smile was wide. But his eyes gave him away. They flitted — was it with guilt? With discomfort? And then he said: “What’s new is that ... READ MORE
Books to help usher in a healthy new year
The Bibliophile The start of the year is a great time to lose weight, improve our health, expand our minds, and take on a new hobby. Informative books by expert authors can help us keep our New Year’s resolutions. Gordon Ramsay’s Healthy, Lean & Fit: Mouthwatering Recipes to Fuel You for Life, by Gordon Ramsay, 288 pages, Grand Central Life & Style hardcover, 2018 A... READ MORE
“Miss Saigon” seen through first-timer’s eyes
There’s lots of sturm und drang being played out at the Kennedy Center in the new production of the musical Miss Saigon, which melodically blasts, electronically blazes, and dramatically tugs at audience emotions for almost three hours on the Opera House stage. It’s an ode to the odiousness of the Vietnam War, to the broad and brash Broadway musical, and to Madame Butterfly (on which ... READ MORE
With age comes Wizdom, hip-hop
In her early 20s, back in 1977, she took to the basketball court at half-time as part of the first cheerleading-dance team for the Washington Bullets. For the next four years, she was a Bullette, wearing high-cut red hot pants and red wedge shoes to shimmy across the court. Some years later, the Bullets rebranded as the Wizards, and the Bullettes became the Wizard Girls. When that dance... READ MORE
Street-corner astronomer says goodnight
Star light, star bright...just a little dimmer now. Herman Heyn — teacher, soldier, matchmaker, writer, featured character in Jon Jefferson’s novel Wave of Terror, and astronomer — is hanging up his telescope for the last time. At 88, Heyn has been Baltimore’s “Street-Corner Astronomer” for the past 31 years. The avuncular Waverly resident is a self-taught astronomer who... READ MORE
