Culture Watch

A new exhibition at the New-York Historical Society examines three centuries of tattooing in New York, including the city's central role in the development of modern tattooing and the successive waves of trend and taboo surrounding the practice. Tattooed New York features more than 250 works dating from the early 1700s to today — exploring Native American body art, tattoo craft practiced by visiting sailors, sideshow culture, the 1961 ban that drove tattooing underground for three decades, and the post-ban artistic renaissance. more »

Sonya Zalubowski writes: We now have the largest immigration since the waves that brought my own family here back in the early 1900s. Talk now here and all over Europe roils about what to do about these huge movements of people. I found reassurance in thinking about my own family and how they lived and worked after coming here in the early 1900s. I share with you this little vignette I wrote in the voice of a ten-year-old in my memoir about growing up in the 1950s in Kenosha, Wisconisn, the grandchild of immigrants from Poland who through their hard work carved out their new lives in this country. more »

The US Forest Service has created this helpful tool for locating state and national forests, parks, and wildlife refuges across the country. On the homepage, visitors simply enter ZIP codes to find local sites of interest. For anyone interested in learning (or relearning) how to play the piano, this website provides a series of free video lessons. Ice and Sky earned a 2016 Webby nomination as an outstanding educational website. Horsethief is a digital magazine from Horsethief Books, a publisher of poetry books "from a diverse group of both emerging and established voices." Exotic and dramatic, Maria Merian's artwork was a valuable tool of discovery for Europeans at the time. more »

Rose Madeline Mula writes: Yesterday when I was Googling instructions on how to boil an egg (don't laugh, it's a lot more complicated than you think) the narrative was interrupted by a headline link that screamed, KATE INFURIATES THE QUEEN! Trouble at the palace? OMG! Kate was neglecting her royal duties to tout her revolutionary skin care line, highly recommended by Dr. Oz. So why all these outrageous claims? Because sprinkled throughout this salad of lies are ads for a myriad of products which I refuse to buy. And how do they get away with making these ridiculous false assertions? I wish I knew. more »