Please consider making a donation of any denomination toward future En Pointe In Public films here: gf.me/u/y6r4ka contemporary /kənˈtɛmp(ə)r(ər)i/ - belonging to or occurring in the present 

We're wrapping up another month with a new round of To the Beat! This month's playlist is one to motivate, spook, and inspire, with plenty of throwbacks and classics, fit for any event. Beat, our music community, had incredible stories based on different experiences and tastes in music that led us to create this one of a kind playlist for you. We found songs that mean a lot to you, help you get through stressful times, and some feel-good jams that boosted our workday mood this week.

All the reviews of Titian’s exhibition at London's National Gallery that I have come across have been surprisingly different. As an art historian, I can appreciate the complexity with which those reviewers are approaching and unpacking the subject of the exhibition. However, none of them really focused their attention on an aspect that stroke me as a major focal point - Titian's choice of subjects - which happen to show the duality of beauty and power. So, I shall. Here, there will not be any “shocking” factual breakdowns of why using sex workers as models was meant to mock the patron of those works (Philip II - prince and then king of Spain that is), neither there will be any speculations on the cultural integration of slavery due to the colonialist expansion of Spain. As interesting as those things are, I would like to look at the visual and symbolic imagery of the mythological narratives that Titian chose, which are surprisingly topical.

I live in an area that's habitually gloomy all winter. The cold weather and lack of sun can get to the psyche. Luckily, the Danish have already solved my problem and have been using it for centuries to battle brutal winters in Denmark.

There is something amiss in the land of the free. Behind the cheery symbolism of hamburgers, baseball, and bald eagles lies something sinister and hidden. If you knock down the walls of suburban cookie-cutter homes, you may find that America is made up of cleverly designed props, decoys of political theatre.

Happy Autumn, fellow culinarians! When the leaves start to fall, it's time for the dough to rise. Every Fall, the frisky cool air always inspires in me a baking spirit as short-lived as the changing leaves. This typically extends for one disastrous October week leading up to Halloween where I try to make uncooked brownie balls that look like eyeballs or cookies topped with black licorice that make it look like a spider.