as an exploratory journey through that old party question: if you could have a drink with anyone in history, who would it be? History is full of people you’d love to have a drink with. Let’s meet a few.
as an exploratory journey through that old party question: if you could have a drink with anyone in history, who would it be? History is full of people you’d love to have a drink with. Let’s meet a few.
Have a drink with: Stede Bonnet The Gentleman Pirate, if you please Ask him about: the shipboard library Like many, many other people around now, I am smitten with Our Flag Means Death, Taika Waititi’s comedy series about real-life pirate Stede Bonnet and his journeys with the famous Blackbeard. What may be surprising to viewers…
Have a drink with: Louis Wain Auteur of psychedelic fractal cats Ask him about: cat memes “British cats that do not look and live like Louis Wain cats are ashamed of themselves.” – H.G. Wells If you love yourself a good cat photo, you can go ahead and thank Louis Wain. Up until the…
Have a drink with: Jumbo The Children’s Giant Friend Ask him about: bath time in the Thames There’s one conspicuous problem with the 1941 Disney movie Dumbo and Tim Burton’s remake, released last week: the elephant’s name is not, in fact, Dumbo. The little elephant with the big ears is, in fact, given a family…
Have a drink with: Sarah Winchester 40BR, 30BA; move-in ready! Ask her about: Extreme Home Makeover, Spectral Edition You’d be forgiven for thinking that the star of the recent suspense film Winchester is Helen Mirren. She is, after all, a certified badass; a superb actress; and well kitted out for the job in a dour…
Have a drink with: Jenny Lind The one and only Swedish Nightingale Ask her about: The hot concert tour of 1850 The Greatest Showman, a movie musical about the life and legend of P.T. Barnum, is a colorful, kinetic romp through the most recognizable part of Barnum’s entertainment oeuvre, with Hugh Jackman at the fore…
Have a drink with: Abdul Karim The jewel in the Crown Ask him about: Royal language lessons The movie Victoria and Abdul portrays the relationship between Queen Victoria and Abdul Karim, a young Indian man assigned to her service in the late 1880s. Karim, originally a clerk from Agra, India, came to Victoria’s service during…
Have a drink with: Yankee Whalers Amazon Wish List: a dead whale or a stove boat. Ask them about: holiday shopping Ron Howard’s new movie In the Heart of the Sea, a film adaptation of Nathaniel Philbrick’s excellent book of the same name, tells the story of the Essex, a Nantucket whaler rammed and sunk…
