In the bicentenary of his birth, it’s time we looked again at the forward-thinking and influential ideas of the great Victorian, writes Daisy Dunn.
— Read on www.bbc.com/culture/story/20190207-was-ruskin-the-most-important-man-of-the-last-200-years
Indeed, Ruskin was not only an astute critic but a talented artist in his own right. He likened the “strong instinct” he felt to draw to the instinct to eat and drink. Drawings of gooseberry blossom and ragwort, mountains and clouds, minerals and birds, including an exquisite sulphur-crested cockatoo he sketched at the zoo, line the walls of the London exhibition. Art, he believed, should reflect nature.
(Daisy Dunn, “Was Ruskin the most important man of the last 200 years?”, BBC.com, 2-8-19)
(c) 2019 JMN.
EthicalDative 
The Best Way to Enjoy Movies
www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2019/feb/10/why-didnt-liam-neeson-just-stick-to-script
(David Mitchell, “Why didn’t Liam Neeson just stick to the script?”, The Guardian, 2-10-19)
I’m too lazy to investigate every single unfamiliar word I encounter, but after sliding over a subheading several times that said an actor “hung out with a cosh,” I finally had to look up “cosh” (then read the article): Merriam-Webster says, ‘(Chiefly British): a weighted weapon similar to a blackjack.’ Cosh closed.
(c) 2019 JMN.