What to do instead You’ve probably heard of traditional “rules of thumb” in finance that are supposed to make retirement planning simple. After all, if they’ve worked for decades, isn’t that the safest bet? Unfortunately, some of these have outworn their usefulness. The 60/40 portfolio is one of them. Even though it is still widely used in financial planning, it may endanger your future. That’s because it doesn’t consider one of the most significant issues today: longevity risk. Let’s look at the rules, the risks it presents, and what you can do to help protect your long-term finances. What is […]
BSO ‘Carnival of the Animals’
Timpani solos. Hip hop narration. These are two phrases that do not fit into the common perception of “classical” music. Most people think of strings and operatic singing. In the start of the second half of their 2017-2018 season, Music Director Marin Alsop and the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra aim to alter that perception with their performances of Philip Glass’s “Concerto Fantasy for Two Timpanists” and Saint-Saëns’ “Carnival of the Animals” on January 11th and 14th.
Big Blasts from the Past
Depending on your generational perspective, the late soul goddess Minnie Riperton is either the mother of actress / singer / SNL alum Maya Rudolph or the singer with the five-octave vocal range best known for the timeless 1975 hit single “Lovin’ You,” co-written by Riperton and her husband Richard Rudolph. You can hear Riperton, who died of cancer in 1979 at 31, paying a “lovin’” homage to her daughter Maya at the end of “Lovin’ You.” The double-disc deluxe edition expanded reissue of Perfect Angel (Capitol / UMe), Riperton’s second album and the one on which “Lovin’ You” can be […]
The Most Entertaining Films of 2017
A bent take on the year in cinema You’ll hear a lot of different opinions about the movie year of 2017. Some people think it was an absolute crap year for film, some will point out the few truly great films of the year, and some will call it an average year. I’ll call it average. There were quite a few films I enjoyed (and for the record there are a lot of 2017 releases I’ve yet to see), but there were few films that fall into my “I’d watch that again” category. Some films unexpectedly caught me off guard, […]
Italian Rhapsody
Call Me By Your Name is a slow burn of longing and desire A new film is getting a lot of buzz right now not only for its awards possibilities, but for its subject matter as well. Call Me By Your Name, based on the novel by André Aciman, stars Timothée Chalamet (also getting notice for his role in Lady Bird) as Elio, a 17-year-old living in a small town in Northern Italy with his parents. His father (Michael Stuhlbarg) is an antiquities and archeology professor, and each summer for six weeks the family hosts a visiting grad student to […]
‘Le Mis’ at National Theatre Ups the Emotional Gravity
Victor Hugo classic brought to stage with a painterly sense of cinema When Les Misérables debuted in London in 1985, the show was met with mixed reviews. Today, the show widely known as Les Mis is one of the longest-running shows on stage and is beloved by audiences around the world. Fans of the musical will be able to experience the drama, romance and revolution from December 20th to January 7th at the National Theatre in Washington, DC.
‘Le Mis’ at National Theatre Ups the Emotional Gravity
Victor Hugo classic brought to stage with a painterly sense of cinema When Les Misérables debuted in London in 1985, the show was met with mixed reviews. Today, the show widely known as Les Mis is one of the longest-running shows on stage and is beloved by audiences around the world. Fans of the musical will be able to experience the drama, romance and revolution from December 20th to January 7th at the National Theatre in Washington, DC.
Love Comes in All Forms
Especially in Guillermo del Toro’s The Shape of Water After some big, big movies featuring Gothic horror (Crimson Peak) and giant robots battling giant monsters (Pacific Rim), director Guillermo del Toro returns to the smaller, fairy-tale films that first brought him widespread acclaim (think The Devil’s Backbone and Pan’s Labyrinth) with The Shape of Water, a very unusual romance film.
Tinsel Tunes 2017
Leave it to a nice Jewish (bisexual) girl such as Rachael Sage to come up with one of the most delightful holiday recordings of the year. Her five-song EP Joy! (MPress) opens with a reading of “Joy to the World” that is pure Sage, right down to her distinctive phrasing and vocals. A radio mix of the songs also closes the EP. In between, it’s a festival of lights and light pop. The originals, including the lighthearted “Tchatchkes & Latkes” and the beautiful “Hanukkah in the Village,” are among Sage’s most appealing compositions. The disc’s centerpiece, in which Sage sings […]
BSO Brings Holiday Jingle to New Heights
Putting the scintillating in seasonal Take a break from frantic shopping and stressful travel prep to enjoy the sounds of the season from the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra at the Joseph Meyerhoff Symphony Hall. Their holiday programming lineup will give you a shot of the holiday spirit and transform the way you hear those classic tunes.