Desert Odyssey, 2008 style

I was feeling sick and miserable on a bus in the middle of the sun-baked Sahara, wishing I were anywhere but there. Then I plugged in my ear buds, and heard the first movement of the Sibelius Violin Concerto. I was healed.

Be'eri Moalem

May 20, 2008 · Essays · 8 minute read

Forgotten women of the Bauhaus

The legendary German Bauhaus school was a haven for revolutionary thinking in design and architecture. It was also a haven for pompous male chauvinists who habitually elbowed aside women of superior talent, not to mention common sense.

Patrick D. Hazard

May 13, 2008 · Essays · 8 minute read

Home design: The personal style

Not long ago, most people were satisfied if their homes were simply beautiful, functional and comfortable. Today every homeowner wants to make a personal statement too. But discovering the “real you” is no simple task. A few suggestions from a home designer.

Caroline Dunlop Millett

Apr 29, 2008 · Essays · 7 minute read

Dining bargains

At these three restaurants, you leave contented but neither stuffed nor strapped.

Lynn Hoffman

Apr 12, 2008 · Essays · 5 minute read

Philadelphia Flower Show

The mobs, themes and commercial promotions at the Philadelphia Flower Show were anything but relaxing. The flower arrangements themselves were anything but relaxing, too.

Philadelphia Flower Show. March 1-8, 2008 at Pennsylvania Convention Center, 13th and Arch Sts. (215) 988-8800 or
www.theflowershow.com.

Be'eri Moalem

Apr 08, 2008 · Essays · 3 minute read

The life of a bugout

I left my last full-time job ten years ago. I make little money and rarely buy anything. And here’s the scary part for you: I’m happy, and I’m not alone.

Rob Laymon

Apr 05, 2008 · Essays · 5 minute read

Funding for the arts (reply)

Armen Pandola proposes a “new play contest” financed by a one-dollar surcharge tacked on to the price of Philadelphia hotel rooms. I wish that Pandola, and everyone who supports similar schemes, would stop treating local industries, business owners and consumers as one more resource to plunder in support of the arts.

Jim Rutter

Mar 25, 2008 · Essays · 4 minute read

"Philadelphia Laureates': A proposal

How do we promote Philadelphia as a major arts center? How about one big symbolic, quixotic gesture? How about creating Philadelphia's Office of Laureates?

Lynn Hoffman

Mar 25, 2008 · Essays · 4 minute read

City Hall reconsidered

The Gilded Age died almost before its greatest extravagance was completed in 1901. Philadelphia’s City Hall has embarrassed Philadelphians ever since. Has the time come, finally, to appreciate it?

City Hall. Tours of the tower run every 15 minutes between 9:30 a.m and 4:30 p.m. Monday-Friday. (215) 686-2840 or click here.

Be'eri Moalem

Mar 23, 2008 · Essays · 7 minute read

Hitler's snack bar

Travel notes from all over:
Welcome to Hitler’s Bavarian snack bar

The Eagles Nest at Berchtesgaden is now a tourist attraction where nobody laughs at the ridiculousness of the “Eva Braun Tearoom.” And I tried to work up my indignation. Really I did.

Lynn Hoffman

Mar 15, 2008 · Essays · 5 minute read