Sentinel Lifestyle
Fishing closures are becoming routine as record heat warms rivers in the US West
LIVINGSTON, Mont. | Trout need cool water to survive, but record heat this summer has driven water temperatures to lethal levels for fish. Wildlife officials are banning fishing during certain hours on rivers and streams across the U.S. West, following an exceptionally dry winter and amid widespread drought. Lower water levels mean rivers can heat […]
At colleges, the AI boom means everyone wants to dabble in computer science
With no background in coding, Faith Maeba, a psychology major, was reluctant when her mother first suggested she enroll in classes on artificial intelligence. But the senior at Virginia Commonwealth University began to see it differently as she looked into graduate psychology programs that explore human behavior in the workplace, which is quickly being upended […]
At creative reuse centers, old art supplies get a new life at a fraction of the cost
NEW YORK | Charlene Catalano was looking for a ball of green-and-white yarn to crochet this year’s winter scarf. Instead of going to a big-box retail store, she found what she needed at Brooklyn Creative Reuse, along with gently used crochet kits, hooks, labels and other bits. It all cost just $6. “Nowadays, art is […]
Of thee I sing: A guide to US patriotic songs, from ‘The Liberty Song’ to Jay-Z and Kanye West
NEW YORK | The history of American patriotic songs offers a lesson about the different ways you can say you love your country. Composers have celebrated endurance under fire ( “The Star-Spangled Banner” ) and invoked divine approval (“God Bless America”). While Toby Keith’s “Made in America” dares anyone to question American eminence, Woody Guthrie’s […]
Malls, once symbols of American consumer culture, are splitting. Some are dying as others thrive
LIVINGSTON, N.J. | I wasn’t a mall rat. Growing up in the 1970s, I didn’t hang out much with my friends at my local mall in New Jersey. The Livingston Mall, which opened in 1972 with stores including Bamberger’s, Sears and Hahne & Co., may have been a bustling social scene for my peers. But […]
A World Cup banner turns the Malvinas into a cultural obsession for a new generation in Argentina
BUENOS AIRES, Argentina | It took a World Cup to transform a remote cluster of islands that’s home to more sheep than people into a cultural juggernaut. A decision by Argentina’s players to unfurl a banner about the disputed Falkland Islands after defeating England in the World Cup semifinals carried a historical cause onto the […]
The risks of waiting too long to harvest garden vegetables
We sowed. We planted. We watered, watched and waited. And now, beanstalks are reaching for the heavens, tomatoes are getting plump and zucchini are seemingly doubling in size overnight. Timing their harvests is a balancing act, and in many cases you, as gardener, are forced to choose between optimal flavor and yield. Sometimes, one must […]
SENTINEL MUSE: Love is in the air, and on all kinds of stages and venues in and near Aurora
AURORA | Here’s your chance to marvel at a couple who just mailed it in. Get out of the heat and into the Vintage Theatre before the end of the month to spend time with Jack and Louise, who build a love for each other through letters on opposite ends of the country during World […]
‘Super Troopers’ at 25: A quarter-century of mustaches and maple syrup — and a new film
NEW YORK | A quarter of a century is a long time for mustache rides and syrup binges, but “Super Troopers” has gotten a lot of mileage out of the simple joys of friends goofing around. The comedy troupe Broken Lizard, a group of college buddies who began performing together at Colgate University, broke through […]
Austria’s 16th-century bell foundry adds modern technology to keep the casting process alive
INNSBRUCK, Austria | Wearing protective gear to shield from the extreme heat of molten bronze, workers at one of the last bell foundries in Europe are casting bells weighing several tons. One after another, the artisans carefully pour the molten metal into specially shaped molds held together with steel bands to create 12 bells for […]