Kurt Keefner
Call Me Deacon Blues
Steely Dan's song "Deacon Blues" tells the paradoxical story of how an inauthentic man finds liberation. How much is that everybody's story?
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Kurt Keefner
Nov 20, 202217 min read
Fun Songs about Bad Men
When does a fun song about a bad man celebrate wickedness? And is this OK in the name of fun?
1330
Kurt Keefner
Oct 20, 202212 min read
Amazing Meme
The story you didn't know of the classic hymn and how it has been a prolific meme in American culture.
3230
Kurt Keefner
Apr 6, 202212 min read
Madame X: Portrait of a Scandal
John Singer Sargent's Madame X was not only a bold artistic statement but a pivotal point in the invention of the modern woman.
9810
Kurt Keefner
Jan 21, 20228 min read
Walking into John Singer Sargent
Sargent was one of the greatest painters of his time. I underestimated him. Now I am taking a fresh look at him - and my reactions to him.
7590
Kurt Keefner
May 20, 20217 min read
The Fate of Atlas
I really enjoyed Greek mythology as a boy, but I was never much interested in Atlas. His brother Prometheus, who created humankind and...
6380
Kurt Keefner
Apr 11, 20213 min read
To Choose Wonder
Plato and Aristotle agreed that philosophy starts in wonder, but wonder is a much broader feeling than what they meant. There is...
4230
Kurt Keefner
Oct 9, 20204 min read
Angel with No Name
The name of one of music history's most most difficult sets of sonatas is unknown, but its beauty is evident.
2180
Kurt Keefner
Sep 11, 202011 min read
Man and Nature in The Fountainhead
Architecture is the interface between man and nature. An opportunity for a theme!
2010
Kurt Keefner
May 15, 20209 min read
The Bust of Caesar
Some characters are perfectly realized without being merely allegorical.
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Kurt Keefner
Mar 27, 201811 min read
The Civil War Re-Imagined in Music
What contemporary songs can tell us about our epic conflict.
1560
Kurt Keefner
Mar 9, 20185 min read
Sing, Little Bird!
The beauty of baroque music is that it can be realized in so many ways. Four versions of the same sweet song.
2730
Kurt Keefner
Dec 16, 201711 min read
Heroes and Shipwrecks: Beethoven and Ayn Rand
In which the sense of life in Beethoven's Fifth is compared to that of Atlas Shrugged.
4780
Kurt Keefner
Jul 19, 20173 min read
Marie Curie: The Courage of Knowledge
Science, determination, womanhood--this film has them all.
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