The actor died suddenly at 67 last week, and many people are remembering him for Goodfellas. But the true breakout was Something Wild, wherein he shone off the screen. "By all accounts, Liotta was a lovely man in person. On-screen, there was no one scarier." - Washington Post
"For her 10th birthday, Dervla Murphy received a secondhand bicycle and an atlas. As she rode up a hill near her home that day in Lismore, County Waterford, Ireland, she thought that if she pedaled long enough, she could get to India." - The New York Times
The sandwich, priced at $1.95, was made with fresh bread from a local Italian bakery, aged cheddar cheese and a substantial smear of butter to make it perfectly crispy — exactly how Kinnear liked it. - Washington Post
"Pembroke Dock town councilor William Gannon, age 58, was just elected earlier this month, but he couldn't quell rumors about his supposed illicit artistic activities in January, which he believes may have been started by his political opponents." - Artnet
"British prosecutors said Thursday they had authorized police to charge actor Kevin Spacey with four counts of sexual assault against three men, an announcement that came as the actor was in court in New York testifying in a different case." - AP
Best known for Something Wild, Field of Dreams, and Goodfellas, "in a decades-long, genre-spanning career, Liotta played criminals, cops, a baseball star, a preacher and even Frank Sinatra." - MSN (Los Angeles Times)
He had knowledge, taste, charm; two high-profile galleries; a beautiful partner and baby daughter. Now he's in prison for fraud, internationally reviled, and owes $86 million. As one friend-turned-victim puts it, through "a toxic mix of arrogance and alcohol, ... he's sabotaged his entire life for short-term greed. It's just stupidity." - The Guardian
Sanitized and caricatured by corporate marketing schemes, Basquiat’s work has been defanged. Today, Basquiat the artist has become Basquiat the brand. - Jacobin
Rima Abdul Malak, who as a child fled with her family to France from the Lebanese Civil War, succeeds Roselyne Bachelot, who was in the position for only 22 months. (France has had 15 culture ministers in the past 30 years.) - The National (Abu Dhabi)
“All these percussion solos from that period of time were written for young, acrobatic people. So the question is, what does an aging body, but a more experienced body, have to offer? And it turns out I’m a better player than I was. I don’t waste any time.” - The New York Times
"Prosecutors accused Philbrick of committing 'one of the most significant frauds in the art market's history,' describing his operation in a sentencing memorandum as 'Ponzi-like.' ... He is alleged to have sold shares totaling more than 100 percent in artworks he didn't own, falsified contracts, forged signatures, and invented fictitious clients." - Artnet
“An accomplished and widely respected actor, John left an indelible mark on the Seattle theater community and on everyone he collaborated with over his long career.” - Seattle Times
Claridge "revealed the details of what, to a casual observer, might seem a homogeneous slice of the long-ago," making the ruins speak to any general reader or visitor to the Eternal City. - The New York Times
Angell's baseball writing - his gorgeous sentences, his attention to detail, his belief that being a fan was a worthwhile endeavor - earned him award after award, but his essays about his New Yorker childhood and his annual holiday poem also had a devoted readership. - The New York Times
Published when she was 51, Barker's O Caledonia won several awards and was popular in Europe for several years, then faded away. She parlayed the book's success into a busy career as a journalist and essayist, known for being quirky and free-spirited, but never wrote another novel. - The New York Times
