Romanticism

(Newser) - They may not wear eye patches or cry “Arrr!” but make no mistake, Somali pirates are successors of the 17-century villains we romanticize today, David Montgomery writes in the Washington Post. Pirates inspire “awe and a little bit of envy at authentic roguish derring-do," even...

(Newser) - Heath Ledger's death at 28 recalls a long tradition of bright young careers snuffed out before their time, from Shelley and Keats to James Dean and Marilyn Monroe. The Romantic ideal of the doomed artist holds great appeal, Ben Macintyre writes in the Times of London, but we go too...

(Newser) - Pavarotti’s obits called him “King of the High C’s,” a nickname he earned for hitting a note that many tenors have to fake in falsetto. “It’s the absolute summit of technique,” says a coach. “More than anywhere else in your voice, you...