Belfast was the opening film at the recent Philadelphia Film Festival. Directed and written by Kenneth Branagh, it is currently showing on the big screen. Filmed in black and white, it tells the story of Branagh’s childhood in Belfast during 1969 at the beginning of the so-called Troubles in Northern Ireland.  It was impossible for […]

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Philadelphia is one of those cities that still have neighborhoods defined by trade. We have the famous Jewelers’ Row off 8th Street, although some stores have been demolished to make room for a high-rise condominium. Never mind that its construction has been stalled due to the pandemic, leaving an ugly open wound fenced by barbwire. […]

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There are few things that I anticipate more than getting The New Yorker each week and, when it was the “Food and Drink” Issue (September 6, 2021), I found myself reading, tasting and luxuriating all at once. This is “An Archival Issue” that cleverly reprinted exceptional articles from years past within its usual categories. “The […]

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When I was an overachiever academic, living in Narberth, a suburb of Philadelphia, making strides for tenure or promotion and raising two teenage daughters, I would sometimes feel overwhelmed. It was as if there was no time for anything else but work. Peter’s solution to turn my frown upside down, was quick in coming: “Let’s […]

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Dear Readers / Queridos Lectores, It has come to my attention that some of you have not been receiving my blogs. I’m so sorry! It turns out that there was a glitch in the system. Thanks to Atlantis, my wonderful web-master, I think it has been fixed. There should be a list on the right, […]

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I’m back in Philadelphia now and it’s been quite an adjustment. I like it, don’t take me wrong, but the urban experience is not what it used to be. Compared to the freedom of the outdoor life of the Jersey Shore, masks are de rigueur. I notice that due to the extreme heat, still prevalent, […]

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