Entertainment, Culture and More

Attention currently serving U.S. military personnel and their families, including Coast Guard and Reserve: the 2025 Blue Star Museums program will begin on Armed Forces Day, Saturday, May 17, 2025 and will continue through Labor Day, Monday, September 1, 2025; the program offers active duty U.S. military personnel and their families free admission to participating museums and other cultural institutions 

By Steven Brodsky

… The program is a partnership of the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) and Blue Star Families, in collaboration with the Department of Defense and participating institutions in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

From a Friends of the Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania news release that was issued today, May 13, 2025:

“The Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania is proud to take part in the Blue Star Museums program for military families again this summer,” says Museum director Patrick Morrison. “The staff and Friends of the Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania sincerely appreciate and thank our troops and their families for their service, and look forward to making a meaningful connection between them and our nation’s railroad history, which we represent. We also offer free admission to our active duty service personnel year-round,” he adds.

From a National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) news release that was issued today, May 13, 2025:

“The National Endowment for the Arts is honored to help connect military service members and their families with their communities through the Blue Star Museums program,” said Mary Anne Carter, Senior Advisor for the National Endowment for the Arts. “Museums and cultural institutions offer countless opportunities for our military to create special memories, celebrate America’s history, and connect with our country’s heritage and culture.”

“For 15 years, Blue Star Museums has opened doors for military families to explore, connect, and feel at home in their communities,” said Kathy Roth-Douquet, CEO of Blue Star Families. “Thanks to our continued partnership with the National Endowment for the Arts and participating museums nationwide, we’re proud to continue this tradition of belonging and enrichment. Museums are more than cultural spaces—they’re places where military families feel seen, welcomed, and celebrated.”

Visit Blue Star Museums: Frequently Asked Questions | National Endowment for the Arts for detailed information about the 2025 Blue Star Museums program.

Posted 5-13-25

Somewhat elusive and beautiful

By Steven Brodsky

… is this butterfly:

Photo by Steven Brodsky

Same can be said about the “butterfly of love” referenced in this song:

Some of the readers of this column are hoping to encounter the “butterfly of love.”

“Nets of wonder” are at the ready.

Posted 5-12-25

The goose mom and dad

By Steven Brodsky

Photo by Steven Brodsky

… and their offspring, pictured above, will probably be okay as a family unit and as individual geese on Mother’s Day.

Not everyone we know or who we will interact with on Mother’s Day will be as fortunate as these geese will likely be.

Mother’s Day will be painful or discomforting for some people.

Please be extra kind to others and to yourself on Sunday, May 11, 2025.

Posted 5-6-25

For the second consecutive year, the Hagley Museum and Library has been recognized as one of the 10 best open-air museums in the country

By Steven Brodsky

… Congratulations to the Hagley Museum and Library!

Hagley and the other open-air museums that were included on this list were nominated by an expert panel and determined by votes of readers of USA TODAY: https://10best.usatoday.com/awards/best-open-air-museum/.

About the Hagley (from a Hagley Museum and Library news release issued on February 19, 2025):

Hagley Museum “inspires all people to be innovative in their own lives” with exhibits, tours, and demonstrations throughout its 235 acres. The museum’s centerpiece is the mile-long, water-powered explosives factory established by the DuPont Company in 1802. Hagley is open year-round for visitors to experience 19^th-century innovation immersed in the natural beauty of the Brandywine Valley.

 A blend of historic buildings and natural beauty is what makes a visit to Hagley a truly unique experience. The French-inspired E. I. du Pont Garden in front of Hagley’s historic home features heirloom varieties of vegetables and flowers dating back centuries while the thousands of trees throughout Hagley’s property recently earned it arboretum accreditation. From gardens to gunpowder, Hagley offers something for everyone.

https://www.hagley.org/

Posted 4-21-25

The spring 2025 Amish mud sale season is underway

By Steven Brodsky

… Community unity, volunteerism, and beneficence are at the core of Amish mud sales.

Mud sales generate funds for fire departments in Amish communities.

Photo by Steven Brodsky

Psalm 133:1: “BEHOLD, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity!”

May the spring 2025 Amish mud sale season be highly successful!

This post appeared at: Conversations About Faith – delcoculturevultures.com.

Originally posted 3-7-25, Reposted and revised 4-14-25

A specific town

By Steven Brodsky

… a shore town, always comes to my mind when I hear Thin Lizzy’s “The Boys Are Back In Town” on a classic rock station.

Uncountable other towns have come into the minds of people in many countries, ever since “The Boys Are Back In Town” was released in 1976.

Back in towns, in advance of vacation season, are the kind of characters featured in the song.

Back, as well, with the return here of this embed, will be memories that are part of lots of readers’ histories:

Posted 3-29-25

The liquefying of a song character’s emotional state on Christmas Eve

By Steven Brodsky

… parallels weather conditions after he meets an “old lover in the grocery store” in a Dan Fogelberg song that was released as a single in 1980.

You’ll hear this in the song’s final words: “The snow turned into rain.”

For many years, the song has prompted me to recall an old lover of my own; I can’t say that I’d like to have a chance encounter with her in a grocery store or anywhere else.

Pre-Christmas Eve revisits to the song have become a tradition for many of us, myself included.

The tradition continues.

Posted 12-18-24

A peaceful and restorative moment in the wilds

By Steven Brodsky

Photo by Steven Brodsky

This post appeared in the Conversations About Nature section of this column.

Reposted 9-19-24

Thick-skinned

By Steven Brodsky

Thick bark
Photo by Steven Brodsky

I was five or six years old when an old woman sitting on a lawn chair outside of a tenement building asked me, “How would you like it if someone picked at your skin?”

She had seen me trying to pick a fleck of tree bark off of a thickly-barked tree near where she was sitting.

This took place decades ago.

The tree and the old woman are gone.

I miss the tree.

Not the old woman.

Evidence, perhaps, of having developed thick skin.

Posted 8-23-24

A venue for quietude

By Steven Brodsky

Photo by Steven Brodsky

… Words are unnecessary.

Posted 7-12-24

Steven Brodsky hosted a radio show for 3 and a half years. The show focused on coverage of entertainment, the arts, and all manner of culture. He is widely known for his many live on air interviews with guests such as: Rodney Crowell, Charlie Louvin, Richie Havens, Eric Whitacre (composer, conductor), Solomon Burke, Janis Ian, Percy Sledge, Billy Joe Shaver, Jack LaLanne, Gene Shay, Bruce Morrow “Cousin Brucie,” Jerome “Little Anthony” Gourdine, Pat Cooper, Jett Williams (daughter of Hank Williams), Steve Forbert, Chris Smither, Lukas Nelson, Dr. Temple Grandin, Dan Fante, Harold Camping (Harold Camping was the radio broadcaster and Bible teacher who famously proclaimed that Judgment Day and the Rapture would take place on May 21, 2011. Harold Camping passed away on December 15, 2013.), Pulitzer Prize-winning authors, curators, historians, scientists, and newsmakers. He welcomes email.