Umberto Eco

'It's nice here, isn't it?" Jackie Collins said in her clear, measured, L.A.-by-way-of-London tone. Jack Black and Dr. Phil were sitting nearby on the terrace of the Polo Lounge at the Beverly Hills Hotel, but it was Collins' arrival that created the...

"It's nice here, isn't it?" Jackie Collins said in her clear, measured, L.A.-by-way-of-London tone. Jack Black and Dr. Phil were sitting nearby on the terrace of the Polo Lounge at the Beverly Hills Hotel, but it was Collins' arrival that created the...

In every century, philosophers and artists have supplied definitions of beauty, and thanks to their works, it is possible to reconstruct a history of aesthetic ideas over time. But this did not happen with ugliness. Most of the time, ugliness has been...

Today, Breitbart and Ehrenstein wonder whether Hollywood is relevant in American politics. Previously they debated whether Tinseltown conservatives are in the closet, attempted to define Hollywood values, discussed the role filmmakers should play in the...

San Luis Obispo Nobody in the hotel business ever tried harder to make a splash than Alex Madonna. So what did he have against swimming pools? Over a span of 46 years, this builder-rancher-hotelier crafted his Madonna Inn, turning it into one of...

Putalibazar, Nepal — IT'S often said that travelers visit Nepal because of the mountains but return because of the people. The generosity of the Nepalese goes straight to the heart and inspires reciprocation. I found that in November when I visited...

In 1348 in the German village of Oberhochwald, it is Father Dietrich's destiny to be the first contact with an extraterrestrial race. In the present day, it is the destiny of a couple, cosmologist Sharon Nagy and mathematical historian Tom Schwoerin,...

Opera's "age of the director" is upon us, or so The New York Times declared last month. This writer begs to differ. While the pronouncement might stand in Berlin or Barcelona, it seems a tad premature for New York. True, New York City Opera, the Met and...

To build his dream theme park in Anaheim a half-century ago, Walt Disney borrowed against his life insurance policy and cashed in property, including a vacation home in Palm Springs, to pay the $17-million construction bill. When the Anaheim theme park...

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Carlos Leite can barely read a word, but books revolutionized his life. Two years ago, he was doing construction work for a man who was about to toss out six thick, red encyclopedias. Leite asked whether he could have them instead. Thus a dream was born....

About the time warrior woman walks by in a leather bikini that hardly exists, Nyla Comisso admits she's overwhelmed. The warrior is about 6 feet tall and carries two silver daggers reflecting the hyperkinetic lights exploding from the dozens of...