Anthrow Circus

A Special Train Fare, a Painting, and Ancient Religious Prisoners

STORY AND PHOTOS BY CAROL LARREY

The train running 150 miles east to ancient Carcassonne from my home in southwestern France was, unusually, only one euro. Given that my husband was absorbed by projects in his office, I decided to spend the euro and head east for a stroll by myself around the famous citadel. The cheap ticket would provide a chance to do some things I’d never done before, such as walk the Canal du Midi from one lock to another and climb the 232 stairs of the Saint Vincent belfry to enjoy a view of the Cité from a mile away.

Plans taking shape, I further discovered that entrances to the restored castle and its battlements were free that day, as well as the art museum downtown. It seemed like a fun day was ahead. Of course, Carcassonne is more than just a cool setting for the film Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves—it’s also a reminder of historical tragedies. So “fun” might not be the right word.

Read More »

Le Gigot: A Meal That Brings People Together

A VIDEO REPORT BY BILL DIEM

The leg of lamb, or “gigot” in French, is slowly disappearing from French tables. Fewer lambs are being raised in the country, and the stronger taste of the meat is less appealing to young people. And yet, because of its traditional role as a special meal, this dish still has the power to bring people together around the table. Lamb is associated with the Christian holidays of Easter and Christmas and the Islamic holiday of Eid ul-Adha, and the gigot is the choice cut.
.

Read More »

Finding My Center in Jerusalem: A Post-October 7 Photo Essay

PHOTO ESSAY BY ELSA WOLMAN KATANA

Other cities in the world speak to me—Amsterdam, Beijing, London, and San Francisco—but Jerusalem is my favorite. In love and solidarity, and seeking some serious emotional, mental, and spiritual R&R, I made two different trips in the last year from my current home in Baltimore. As a Jew and an Israeli, only in Israel could I find refuge from the general refusal of the world to acknowledge the atrocities of October 7, 2023. In Jerusalem, my world spins on center.

Read More »

What Happened When I Tried to Like Arizona

STORY BY HEATHER M. SURLS

PHOTOS BY MARY VENDEGNA & KAMI RICE

Rain spattered the windshield as Austin turned into the Water Wheel Trail parking lot. Driving the two-lane highway here from Payson, we had seen charcoal clouds emitting a fine scrim of rain, but we’d decided to hike even if it were sprinkling when we arrived. In the passenger’s seat, I folded down my striped socks, pulled on my sneakers. We would not be stopped. Not when our boys were overnight with their grandparents for the first time. Not on our first getaway in two years.

Read More »

London-based Composer Teodor Doré Explores the World Through Sound

STORY BY JOANNA MARSH
PHOTOS COURTESY OF DYNAMIC AGENCY

Ever since he was a young boy in Crimea, music filled Teodor Doré’s life. At four years old, he would come next to his mother, a pianist, while she was practicing, and he would try to imitate her on the keyboard as best as he could.

Not too long after, he composed his first piece for the choir his grandmother conducted. He set the poem The Birch Tree by Russian poet Sergei Yesenin to four voices.

Read More »

My Normandy Summer: A WWII Diary, 80 Years Later

STORY AND PHOTOS BY KAMI RICE

It had rained all morning. Poured. Despite this, I arrived to a large crowd at the Mémorial de Montormel just as the first plane, trailing black smoke, puttered dramatically overhead. The clouds were low, but the airshow went on. Five post-war planes took turns swooping and banking in the open air, sometimes in formation, sometimes alone, sometimes teasing us into thinking the show was over before reappearing to make another pass in front of hundreds of upturned faces.

Standing in that umbrellaed crowd on the bluff above the pastoral Dives Valley, with the D-Day Ladies playing swing tunes on a stage behind us and cows dotting the fields below us, I felt transported. Located around 35 miles inland from the historic Normandy beaches breached by the Allies on June 6, 1944, this rural farmland around Mont-Ormel was the final pocket of the Normandy region to be liberated from the Germans in late August 1944. The music and planes, the reenactors and exhibits were assembled to commemorate the last violent gasps of WWII in this part of France.

Read More »

Adulting at Disney World

STORY AND PHOTOS BY JC JOHNSON

I had a big birthday this year that needed celebrating. So what does every self-respecting adult trying to avoid getting older do? You go to Disney World. Did you know Super Bowl MVPs go to Disney to celebrate their win? If the NFL can go to Disney, then so too can this self-respecting adult. (Even if I’m not really into sports in any other way, I am the MVP of my life, right?)

Sadly, the term “Disney Adult” hasn’t been much of a compliment recently—especially, if you refer to Urban Dictionary’s definition. But I refuse to let mean people take away my joy. I am not wear-Mickey-ears-to-dinner obsessed. No, like most Disney Adults, I just like to go to theme parks, with or without kids. Some of us like remembering childhood memories, and of course riding rides is fun. Plus, there’s the shopping, which is a respectable pastime in any other location. And you really shouldn’t diss character breakfasts until you’ve tried them.

Read More »

On The Road A/V Club: Episode 4 – The Team Talks A.I.

THE ANTHROW CIRCUS TEAM

This episode again brings together a part of the AC team as we sit “together” to discuss AI and it’s usage. Coming from multiple perspectives this conversation touches on how we may address this tool in our collective media and individual professional and personal spaces.

Read More »