In 1968, The Beatles released one of the most highly regarded albums in popular music, The White Album. And in 2003, Jay-Z, in stark contrast, released his magnum opus, The Black Album. We associate a blackwash with things somber and final. But Motif’s Black History Month Issue is anything but. Featuring the artwork of Jordan […]
Over the course of the past year, the abilities of artificial intelligence have jumped past what we once thought possible. And those possibilities have sparked passionate debate over copyright, workers’ rights, and the role of art in our society. This past summer we saw a historic Hollywood writers’ / actors’ strike with AI at the […]
The moment you learn most soft drinks began their lives as medical elixirs is always an enjoyable experience. Yes, Dr. Pepper was invented by a licensed pharmacist. Pepsi gets its name from its medical claim to relieve dyspepsia. And, there is some historically medicinal basis behind your grandma prescribing ginger ale to calm a troubled […]
Like a haymaker’s punch, the COVID pandemic completely rocked the restaurant industry, benefiting many – but leaving many others to either shut down entirely or scramble to restructure their business models. In RI, we saw The Grange, Nick’s on Westminster, and El Rancho Grande close in the pandemic. The owners of JP Spoonem’s took the […]
Every winter, our mammalian kin pack on the blubber and slow down the pace of life so as not to expend valuable calories on wasted efforts. Winter is the season of laziness for woodland critters like those industrious squirrels who kick back and relax over a mountain of nuts. In our fast-paced human lives, sometimes […]
In a colorful, yarn-covered studio on the West Side of Providence (behind Ogie’s and upstairs from where The Nest used to be) you’ll find TuftxPVD – a new art space where folks of all skill levels can learn the craft of tufting from a working artist. A few years back, the catchphrase of every cash-strapped […]
In the mid-1800s, Black folks developed the cakewalk – a pageant of ostentatious dances mocking the absurdity of their plantation owners. And from the traditions of the cakewalk, you can trace a thread through the Black queer drag shows of the ’70s and ’80s to the NFL’s end-zone celebrations. But I’d like to introduce you […]
As the second most densely populated state in America, it’s hard for anywhere in Rhode Island to be “in the middle of nowhere.” But I’ll be damned if Sly Fox Den Too doesn’t get close. Down Route 2, out in Narragansett country — past farmlands, timberlands and swamplands — sits the unassuming red restaurant. ‘Round […]
On a frigid winter night in 1892, the villagers of Exeter exhumed the corpse of Mercy Brown. Her cheeks blushed, her lips still red – Mercy’s body was desecrated in the name of a centuries-old superstition of vampires. The deceased 19-year-old went on to become as famous as Salem’s witches and Fall River’s ax murderess, […]
While we modern folk go about our evening bustle under the glow of city lights, citizens of the ancient world had nothing but the stars to light their nights. All information under the Sun rests in our back pockets, but it seems your average ancient chap knew more about the movements of the stars than […]