You may be familiar with the ongoing court case involving the shoe designer, Christian Louboutin, who claims that the designer Yves Saint Laurent stole his signature design by making and selling red-soled shoes. Louboutin believes he ought to be granted… Read More
The subjects of today’s blog are two animal-based “natural” food additives that have been around for hundreds of years–but people are only just realizing where they come from. I’m talking about cochineal red coloring, derived from bugs, and castoreum flavoring,… Read More
Nowadays, subdued colors are considered proper business attire, especially for men. But to people of the Renaissance, muted, earthy shades were the colors of poverty. Noblemen, princes and high church officials wore bright colors. The brighter the color you were… Read More
The composer Aaron Copland had a low opinion of the symphonies of Ralph Vaughan Williams, a composer of the English pastoral school. Copland supposedly said that listening to Williams’ Symphony No. 5 “is like staring at a cow for forty-five minutes. ”