Author: Ms. R.

Dario Argento’s 1975 Italian film Profondo Rosso, internationally known as Deep Red, is often considered a masterpiece of the giallo genre. Giallo films combine elements of murder mystery stories with tropes typically found in slasher movies. Often the protagonist has to figure out who the murderer is as characters are systematically killed off. Films like Argento’s Deep Red have gone on to inspire films like the Scream franchise and I Know What You Did Last Summer. Much of the filming for Deep Red took place……

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It’s almost over. For years, Luigi Giovanni Brusa has struggled for air and battled a persistent cough. In his final moments, he crumples back into a seat of rough stone. His arms limp at his side, a devoted woman to his right looks at him with affectionate concern, and perhaps a bit of surrender, rubbing his chest. It’s a touching scene—carved entirely from gray granite. It feels almost like an imposition to cast eyes on this vulnerable moment captured……

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Sarasota, Florida, was the home of two of the five original Ringling Brothers. As such, it has a strong connection to the history of the circus. In 1985, the city decided to erect a circus ring of fame, modeled after the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Today it lives in St. Armand’s Circle, where passersby can see plaques for P.T. Barnum, the Ringling brothers, and countless acrobats, animal trainers, daredevils, tightrope walkers, trapeze artists, and more. The largest monument is……

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Moving at a whopping speed of 0.3 meters per second, the Viennese City Hall houses one of only six Paternosters in the whole city. The city hall paternoster (Latin for “Our Father”) was built in 1918 and houses enough space in each cabin for two brave people. The creaking as it moves might make you start praying for its namesake, but have no fear, no harm will come to you if you go past the final floors on the……

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Looking somewhat like a meteorite sitting on a pedestal, this stone is a memorial to the 1968 Tlatelolco Massacre. During the 1960s, and in 1968 particularly, massive student protests erupted around the world, from the United States to Czechoslovakia to Japan. Mexico was no different. In 1968, protests in Mexico intensified ahead of when Mexico City was set to hold the Summer Olympics. At the time, students were protesting the government and police violence after riot police and army……

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Bagolino is a small village perched on the steep slopes of Val Sabbia. The history of this village goes back to the Ancient Roman Empire when it conquered these territories around the year 16 CE. There is evidence suggesting that the Romans established an outpost for changing horses along Val Sabbia. In due time, the settlement grew into a hamlet, and so an early iteration of Bagolino was born. Much more documented is the role the village played throughout……

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The animal world is full of harbingers of doom—at least, according to superstitions. From the Tower of London’s ravens (whose departure would signal the fall of an entire nation) to the average black cat crossing your unlucky path, plenty of critters warn of woe. In Ominous Animals, we explore the lore—and the science—behind these finned, furry, and feathered messengers of impending calamity. In July, divers off the coast of Ruifang, Taiwan, encountered a glimmering, serpent-like figure suspended vertically in……

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In 1968, the poet Diane di Prima moved from New York to San Francisco. She wanted to work with the Diggers, self-identified community anarchists who performed street theater and organized mutual aid projects, from free stores to free housing to the dissemination of produce, hot meals, and bread. Shortly after her arrival, Di Prima’s Volkswagen van was enlisted to help with the Diggers’ food distribution efforts. For Di Prima, who had come of age during McCarthyism and the FBI……

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