Four all-time greats. The post Who were the “Big Four” British invasion bands? first appeared on Far Out Magazine.

This week, a video leaked of Nashville police officer Sean Herman, filming a skit for OnlyFans, a social media subscription service that primarily hosts pornography. The scandal underscores a broader social issue facing America: The moral and social degradation caused by the excessive commercialization of the sex industry.  The Metropolitan Nashville Police Department launched an investigation and found the video on May 9. The police department reports it was filmed on April 26 in a warehouse parking lot while Herman was on duty for the local precinct.  In the film, Herman refers to himself as “Officer Johnson” and acts as a police officer performing a traffic stop. The driver avoids receiving a ticket by bribing the officer with her exposed breast. According to the police department, Herman caressed the OnlyFans mode’s breast during the skit.  The video exclusively films below his chest area and does not reveal Herman’s face. However, the police identified him with his badge number and patrol car, which are clearly recorded. The department fired Herman on May 9, and yesterday he was arrested and charged with felony counts for official misconduct. It is inconceivable that a police officer, sworn to serve his community, performed a sex act on film while on duty. Herman’s apathy toward sexual objectification highlights the severity of America’s pornography epidemic. Herman served as a police officer for three years. A local judge set his bond at $3,000. READ MORE: Yes, Pornography Is a Public Health Crisis The post Police Officer Arrested For Participating in OnlyFans Skit While On Duty appeared first on The American Spectator | USA News and Politics.

by Michael Snyder, End Of The American Dream: When we read about ancient societies that worshipped their gods by conducting child sacrifices, many of us recoil in horror.  But the truth is that far more children are being murdered in our time, and the vast majority of the population is perfectly okay with that.  In […]

by Matt Agorist, The Free Thought Project: (The Daily Sceptic) A massive global grooming programme aimed at mostly mainstream media involving climate catastrophism and Net Zero promotion is detailed in a recently published report from the green billionaire-funded Internews’s Earth Journalism Network (EJN). The work is a shocking insight into the corruption of independent, investigative journalism. At […]

from The People’s Voice: TRUTH LIVES on at https://sgtreport.tv/

It's so clever! READ MORE...

A screenshot of the documentary film America Rising: The Arts of the Gilded Age. Source: 217 Films, LLC   The Gilded Age in America is considered a unique era, unthinkable anywhere else. The documentary America Rising: The Arts of the Gilded Age explores this era of unbridled growth, optimism, and hope through its works of art. These paintings and photographs depict the wonders of America and the result of its rapid expansion from East to West, especially Manifest Destiny and Western Settlement. Unlike paintings in Europe, America’s artwork during the Gilded Age was free of restrictions and limits—symbolizing its historic growth. The art, including music, was a metaphor for national growth and aspirations, often mesmerizing and inspiring viewers. Enjoy this documentary and feel uplifted by the nation’s amazing art from this bold and exciting era!     Written & Directed by Michael Maglaras Patty Satalia (left) interviewing filmmaker Michael Maglaras (right) in January 2024 as part of the “Conversations from Penn State” series. Source: 217 Films, LLC   America Rising: The Arts of the Gilded Age is written and directed by veteran filmmaker Michael Maglaras, who has created many other acclaimed documentaries about historical eras. In addition to American art during the 45-year period of the Gilded Age, Maglaras has also explored art during the Great Depression and the famous 1913 Armory Show in New York City, which introduced many Americans to modern art. His directing work goes back to 2005, and his most recent release is Ralph Waldo Emerson: Give All to Love.   As an experienced writer and director, Maglaras does an excellent job explaining and revealing the surge in American art, both domestically created and imported from Europe, during the Gilded Age. He covers the roots of the Gilded Age in the new technology of the Civil War, with photography sparking the creation of new art. Throughout the film, Maglaras covers many genres of art, from photography to painting to sculpture, depicting the breadth of American art as artists were able to use their training, resources, and inspiration to create new works.   Produced by 217 Films An image from Michael Maglaras’ video explaining the mission and vision of 217 Films. Source: 217 Films, LLC   Michael Maglaras and 217 Films seek to provide high-quality, engaging, and informative documentaries that explore the arts. These videos are full of rich dialogue and imagery that draw in the viewer. Right away, the viewer is drawn into the world of art—there is no lengthy prologue! Helpful subtitles allow the reader to quickly link each artist with their work, providing information for later exploration.   Maglaras’ guiding dialogue is well-paced and highly skilled, combining key information with bits of humor. The narration is pleasing and leaves the listener eager to hear more. The pacing is on point, with the documentaries neither rushing nor dragging. The viewer is carried along at a quick and enjoyable clip, making them excited to see the next revelation or innovation. Maglaras adds to this excellent pacing by including information from other experts who interject key pieces of knowledge to provide additional context.   The Director’s Statement on America Rising Abraham Lincoln (left) and Mark Twain (right) were the famous figures whose lives bookended the Gilded Age. Source: Humanities Texas (left) and National Endowment for the Humanities (right)   In his well-crafted director’s statement, Maglaras explains that the Gilded Age was a complex and challenging era to explore, with many unexpected twists and turns. This era, which Maglaras defines as the time period between the death of US President Abraham Lincoln in 1865 and the death of famous writer Mark Twain (who coined the term “Gilded Age” in his 1873 book The Gilded Age: A Tale of To-Day) in 1910. So much art was created during this era that Maglaras had difficulty narrowing down the most important innovations!   Maglaras points out that the influences of the Gilded Age technically began before 1865 and extended after 1910, with many of the era’s most famous artists being active outside the strict Gilded Age timeline. The ideas and norms generated during the Gilded Age carried through to the great debates in the aftermath of World War I, when America had to decide which route it would take on the world stage: international peace-keeper or isolationist. Even today, Maglaras explains, we are influenced by the DNA of the Gilded Age.   Why Now? Today’s Similarities to the Gilded Age A graph revealing that income inequality has returned to levels last seen during the Gilded Age and Roaring Twenties. Source: The Washington Center for Equitable Growth   Why is now a good time to re-examine the Gilded Age? Maglaras points out that, a hundred years after the end of the era, we are entering a new Gilded Age in terms of income and wealth inequality. The release of America Rising: The Arts of the Gilded Age took place on January 20, 2017, when the nation’s first billionaire president was instated. This occurrence, regardless of one’s political leanings, highlights the role of wealth in relation to political power.   Art, wealth, and political corruption are similarities that we today share with the Gilded Age. New technology, from social media to artificial intelligence to 3-D printing, will someday be judged in terms of its influences on art, similar to how photography sparked a new era of art at the beginning of the Gilded Age. How will today’s artists capture the complexity of our own era, particularly compared to how Gilded Age artists did a hundred years ago? Likely now as then, powerful artists will both praise and criticize the excesses of our era.   Exploring Influences: Immigration & The Promise of America A drawing of immigrants from Europe seeing the Statue of Liberty upon arrival in New York. Source: The Gotham Center for New York City History   It was not just American farmers and factory workers who dreamed of joining the capitalist class and enjoying the fruits of the technological and infrastructural boom of the Gilded Age. Maglaras explores the role of immigrants, many of whom sought the economic promise of America during the era. Almost twelve million immigrants, mostly from Europe, arrived in the United States during this era. These immigrants, most of them arriving with very little, inspired artists with their optimism, ambition, and determination.   The hard work of immigrants, both in the factories and as new farmers, helped fuel rapid economic growth. Artists captured the new life of arriving immigrants in photographs and paintings, energizing cities and building landscapes. As factories boomed, immigrants were joined by rural residents in flocking to cities, creating an era of urbanization that also inspired artists. The pace of American life quickened as labor moved to electric-lit factories, which could run all the time, rather than the agrarian life that was governed by the rising and setting of the sun.   Exploring Influences: American Artists Study in Europe Pablo Picasso’s famous painting People in 1900 Paris, which exemplified the many Americans visiting Paris during the Gilded Age. Source: The Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation   Economic growth during the Gilded Age created a growing class of wealthy Americans. These families could now afford to travel to Europe, where their members could study the arts in popular destinations like France and Italy. This would, in turn, intensify the creation of great art back in the United States. American artists of means would be influenced by European schools but would also influence these schools in turn, which Maglaras explores in detail.   Most great American painters of the Gilded Age were influenced, to some degree, by French impressionists. Some lived in Europe for long periods of time but retained their American backgrounds. Other artists of the era were born in Europe but moved to the United States, which adopted them as burgeoning talents. During the Gilded Age, America evolved from an agrarian nation to an urban nation and from a consumer of foreign artistic culture to a producer of its own artistic culture.   Exploring Influences: American Expatriates in Europe A photograph of American expatriate artist John Singer Sargent in Paris, circa 1884. Source: The Richard H. Driehaus Museum, Chicago   The state of art on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean was influenced by a growing class of American expatriates who lived in Europe. These Americans, typically wealthy, moved to Europe but largely retained their US citizenship. The increase in Americans living in Europe, often studying and consuming art, signified America’s development as an economic power. No longer did the nation just absorb those seeking economic opportunity, but rather sent back those who had “made it” to seek enrichment. As a whole, America had “made it.”   American expatriates were not just absorbing European culture but also influencing it. Business contacts were made, and traditional norms in Europe were challenged. The sometimes tense relationships between wealthy Americans (“new money”) and European nobility (“old money”) could create drama that influenced art, especially literature. One common theme was wealthy American women marrying European nobles, which challenged norms on both continents.   Exploring Contrasts: Realism in Literature vs. Happiness in Paintings A photograph of a child laborer during the Gilded Age, exemplifying the harsh realism of much of the era’s literature. Source: Annenberg Foundation   Maglaras does not shy away from the harsh conditions faced by most Americans during the Gilded Age—he also explores the realism used by some prominent authors to highlight their struggles. These authors described the terrible conditions faced by the working poor and criticized the wealthy for doing little to improve their condition. Although some focused on the exciting settlement of the West, the plight of the urban poor often drew them back to contemporary events, including struggles like feminism against a deeply patriarchal society.   Frequently, the literature of struggle contrasted with paintings that focused on bold, happy colors and domestic achievements. This can be seen as analogous to the Gilded Age itself, at least in its early decades. Much of the art depicted America’s promise and fashion, while some depicted images of life in Europe. Part of this may have been due to necessity: those who could purchase paintings were typically wealthy and would thus want scenes resembling their own lives and aspirations.   Exploring Effects: Wealthy Art Collectors of the Gilded Age An 1896 photograph of the first Carnegie International exhibit at the steel tycoon’s famous art museum in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Source: Carnegie Museums of Pittsburgh   The growing wealth of the Gilded Age created a class that could afford to collect art for the first time. As fortunes were made in coal, oil, steel, and railroads, tycoons wanted to surround themselves with luxury and sophistication, including fine art. By the 1880s, some wealthy Americans began to consider art as an investment as the prices of paintings kept rising. Around this time, art collectors also began exhibiting their collections in large galleries. As collectors accumulated more art, they began seeking different types, increasing demand for new schools of thought and helping expand artistic expression.   Famously, steel magnate Andrew Carnegie founded his art museum in 1895. The Pittsburgh Museum is considered the first modern art museum in the country. During the Gilded Age, the government allowed spending on arts as well, such as the first art installations for the White House. Portraits became very popular, with the wealthy having portraits of themselves made at unprecedented rates…and collecting famous portraits at unprecedented rates as well. This included US presidents of the era, who circulated their portraits as a way to boost popularity among voters.   Exploring Further: Other Documentaries by 217 Films, LLC An image of the most recent documentary created by Michael Maglaras and 217 Films. Source: 217 Films, LLC   Fortunately, viewers of America Rising: The Arts of the Gilded Age will find several other films by Michael Maglaras and 217 Films to enjoy. Eight other documentaries are available to watch for free on the company’s website, giving viewers a chance to learn about famous writers and artists from multiple eras. Painter and poet Marsden Hartley is explored in Cleophas and His Own: A North Atlantic Tragedy and Visible Silence: Marsden Hartley, Painter and Poet, and painter John Marin is seen in John Marin: Let the Paint be Paint!    Graphic artist Lyn Ward is analyzed in O Brother Man: The Art and Life of Lyn Ward, and America’s first mass exposure to modern art is explored in The Great Confusion: The 1913 Armory Show. After the Gilded Age, the art of the Great Depression is explored in Enough to Live on: The Arts of the WPA. The effects of the British documentary Civilisation, which came out during the Vietnam War, on American culture is analyzed by Maglaras in Civilisation and America fifty years after its 1970 release. Finally, iconic American literary figure Ralph Waldo Emerson is explored in Ralph Waldo Emerson: Give All to Love, released in 2023.

  The Boom movement in the mid-20th century marked a literary renaissance in Latin America, drawing global attention to writers from all across the continent. With magical realism at the forefront, literary narratives upended European modes of storytelling, crafting unique narratives that reshaped the world’s perception of Latin American literature and history. While the Latin American Boom was a 20th-century phenomenon, the literary heritage from pre-Columbian times to the colonial era and independence movements cannot be overlooked. Here are six of the greatest Latin American authors to read.   1. Jorge Luís Borges  Photograph of Jorge Luis Borges. Source: The Paris Review   Argentine Jorge Luís Borges is one of the most well-known writers of Latin America. Born in Buenos Aires in 1899, Borges spent his childhood and adolescence in Europe, returning to Argentina in 1921.   Borges’s poems and collections of short stories, Fictions and “The Aleph” being the best-known, captivate the reader with their infinite curiosity about human existence examined through explorations of theology and philosophy, which Borges claims are the same thing. His stories defy a singular perception of this universe, with their labyrinthine libraries, alternate realities, and the constant blurring between reality and illusion.   Libraries held immense significance for Borges not only in fiction but also in life. In addition to being an avid reader and professor of English literature at the University of Buenos Aires, Borges served as the director of the National Public Library.   From Erik Desmazieres’s collection of prints inspired by Jorge Luís Borges’s story “The Library of Babel,” 1997. Source: Warnock Fine Arts   He often wove autobiographical details into his stories. “The South” is an excellent illustration of this. The protagonist Juan Dahlmann, who lives an uneventful and quiet life as a librarian in Buenos Aires, just like the author himself, suffers a head injury and starts to reflect on his German ancestry and his ties to the Argentine south in a hospital bed. The story takes the man from Buenos Aires to the country’s south, where a dreamlike reality draws him into a fight with gauchos. The story leaves the reader questioning whether Dahlmann is actually fighting the gauchos or is still in his hospital bed hallucinating a more epic death.   This story is inspired by an episode of septicemia that almost killed Borges. The writer underwent other health challenges throughout his life. Though visually impaired later in life, he never stopped reading and writing. To the surprise and discontent of many, this extraordinary voice of Latin American literature never received a Nobel prize. Nevertheless, Jorge Luís Borges is considered by many to be Latin America’s greatest writer.   2. Gabriela Mistral Gabriela Mistral with schoolchildren. Source: Museo Gabriela Mistral de Vicuña   In 1945, Gabriela Mistral, a schoolteacher and poet from Chile, became the first Latin American to win the Nobel Prize in literature. The Swedish Academy recognized Mistral “for her lyric poetry which, inspired by powerful emotions, has made her name a symbol of the idealistic aspirations of the entire Latin American world.”   Gabriela Mistral, born Lucila Godoy Alcayaga, drew inspiration for writing from her father, who was also a schoolteacher. Mistral’s early life was marked by grief, as she lost her fiance to suicide, an event that left its imprint in many of her poems.   “Desolación” (“Desolation”), Mistral’s first anthology that explores love, grief, death, and faith with an intimate and evocative language is a testament to Mistral’s deep sensibility as a poet. Children and frustrated maternity are other recurrent themes in Mistral’s poetry. At odds with her political beliefs, her poetry is infused with religious and Catholic themes.   An outspoken socialist, Mistral led a politically and socially active life. Beyond a rich literary heritage, she contributed to school reforms both in Chile and Mexico, advocating for equal access to education for all children. Her love for children and devotion to education are beautifully expressed both in her life’s work and through her body of work.   3.  Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz Portrait of Sister Juana Inés de la Cruz, attributed to Nicolás Enríquez de Vargas, c. 1720-1770. Source: Philadelphia Museum of Art,   Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz, Latin America’s most famous nun, stands as a precursor to feminism whose literary legacy transcends time and space. Sor Juana’s unparalleled intellect, talent, and erudition earned her acclaim throughout colonial Latin America and Spain, placing her in the company of literary giants such as Luis de Góngora, Lope de Vega, and Pedro Calderón de la Barca. Her work remains one of the most remarkable examples of Hispanic Baroque literature.   Confronted with the social norms of colonial Mexico, Sor Juana had to make a choice: marriage or convent. In opting for life in the convent, Sor Juana gained social protection and access to an extensive library, where she devoted the majority of her time to scholarly pursuits and writing.   As an outspoken nun and advocate for women’s education, Sor Juana faced persecution throughout her life, often having to confront colonial authorities and church officials. Her essays are filled with witty confrontations, rich in erudition and sarcasm, while her poetry is straightforward and poignant—a testament to her inner turmoil in response to societal norms.   Sor Juana’s love poems—met with criticism and resistance from church authorities—are an expression of her deep connection to her inner world. Many dedicated to the Vicereine of Mexico, María Luisa Manrique de Lara y Gonzaga, attest to an intimate relationship between the two women, prompting speculation about Sor Juana’s potential romantic feelings for María Luisa.   Due to her exploration of feminist themes, Sor Juana’s writing and life have been recently re-examined from a feminist perspective, positing her as an early feminist whose legacy continues to inspire women and writers across Latin America.   4. Gabriel García Márquez Portrait of Gabriel García Márquez. Source: BBC   It would not be an exaggeration to say that Gabriel García Márquez is Latin America’s most well-known and read author globally. “Gabo,” as he is often called, became synonymous with magical realism and the Latin American Boom movement of the 1960s.   Gabriel García Márquez was born in Aracataca, Colombia, a municipality in the country’s Caribbean region. The rich cultural folklore and syncretic practices of the Caribbean coast served as a foundation for the creation of Macondo, the fictional town where most of Márquez’s stories are set. Initially pursuing a law degree, Márquez abandoned his studies and began working as a journalist before embarking on a prolific writing career.   Gabo’s most-read novel, One Hundred Years of Solitude—published for the first time in 1967—is the quintessential magical realist novel. Translated into more than 40 languages and with over 45 million copies sold worldwide, it continues to be the most translated literary work in Spanish after Don Quixote. In 1982, Márquez won the Nobel Prize, becoming the epitome of the literary success that swept over Latin America in the second half of the 20th century.   For those who need an introduction to magical realist novels and Latin American literature, Gabriel García Márquez is an excellent point of departure.   5. Joaquim Maria Machado de Assis Portrait of Machado de Assis, 1904. Source: Pesquisa   Joaquim Maria Machado de Assis, one of Brazil’s greatest writers, lived and wrote in the 19th century. Born to a father of African descent and a white mother of Azorean ancestry, Machado de Assis experienced the contrasting realities of 19th-century Brazil due to his mixed-race heritage. Despite being a mulato, the writer did not explicitly address it in his writings, and his political views remain unknown to critics to this day. As a civil servant, Machado de Assis led a quiet life, dedicating himself to his governmental job until his very last days.   Although Machado de Assis’s writing initially did not garner admiration from literary critics and writers, he is now regarded as one of the most prominent figures in Brazilian literature. Machado is appreciated for his satire and innovative narrative techniques. His novel The Posthumous Memoirs of Brás Cubas recounts the life of Brás Cubas in the first person after the protagonist-narrator announces his own death. The novel delves into themes of betrayal and jealousy through an unreliable narrator.   Two of the most notable features of Machado’s work are ambiguity and unreliable narration—qualities that have piqued the interest of both scholars and readers. One of the writer’s most-read stories, titled “Missa do galo” (“Midnight Mass”), is an excellent example of his use of these devices. In typical Machado fashion, the story leaves the reader questioning whether or not there was adultery between the protagonist and the married landlady.   6. Pablo Neruda Photograph of Pablo Neruda. Source: Pablo Neruda Foundation   Tonight I can write the saddest lines. Write, for example, ‘The night is starry and the stars are blue and shiver in the distance.’   These unforgettable lines belong to Pablo Neruda’s most renowned poem. A master of poetic excellence and lyrical prowess, the Chilean writer gained worldwide recognition and acclaim, leading him to win a Nobel Prize in 1971.   Born Ricardo Eliécer Neftalí Reyes Basoalto, Neruda started writing poetry at a very young age. Though discouraged by his father, he continued writing and soon started publishing under the pseudonym Pablo Neruda. As a student, Neruda was encouraged by Gabriela Mistral, who worked as a school principal at the time. Interestingly, both poets went on to become Chile’s Nobel laureates.   A prolific writer, Neruda had two books published by the time he was 20 years old. However, the writer faced poverty in the early years of his career and had to take up low-paying diplomatic jobs to support himself. It was after Neruda developed a friendship with the Spanish poet Federico García Lorca and relocated to Spain as a consul that his poetry became more widely known and accepted in larger artistic circles.   Neruda’s literary legacy is immense and too diverse to be summarized in a single paragraph. It is safe to say, however, that Twenty Love Poems and a Song of Despair is his best-known masterpiece and one of the most celebrated collections of love poems ever written.