More than 20 percent of all Americans have at least one tattoo, and for millennials that number jumps to almost 40 percent. What could be more intimately a part of you than a work of body art permanently inked into your skin?

You might think the political movie of the moment would be one of the half-dozen or so superhero pictures where the world is engulfed by chaos and a strongman comes to its rescue.

OK. Confession time. I’ve seen Ridley Scott’s “Blade Runner” at least 50 times. I know the entire screenplay of the director’s cut off by heart. I have owned three different VHS versions, three different DVD versions (including a very collectable 12" laser disc) and have downloaded the ever-expanding online FAQ. Sad, isn’t it?

If you are committed to the pleasures of reading you may be pleased to discover that there is evidence to suggest that reading fiction is good for you.

The launch of augmented reality game Pokémon Go has been a resounding success for Nintendo and app developer Niantic. Reports suggest it to be the most popular mobile game in US history, with the number of daily active users at times surpassing Twitter, Facebook, and Tinder.

I had better confess straight away: I love reading historical fiction. So much so that I actually recommend to my Renaissance students that they read it too. Putting fictional flesh on historical bones can teach us a lot – about storytelling and, yes, also about history.

Children need to play. They need the tactile touch of gooey finger paint rather than the sanitary experience of brushing their fingers across a touch pad to make color magically appear on a screen. They need to dig in the dirt, and get dirty. They need to splash in water and get wet.

The imminent release of Ghostbusters, a reboot of the 1984 cult movie of the same name, has been accompanied by fears that the new film might not be as good as the first.

There’s no better way to escape the stresses and strains of work and – for many at the current juncture – the acute anxiety of geopolitics, than to put your reading into “romance” gear.

If your project/plan/interaction is not running smoothly, if you're running into obstructions and trying too hard, receive the message here from Noelle Sterne's article. Apply its precepts to your life in general, and you'll see how her insights/suggestions/observations fit perfectly.

I’ve received many a bouquet of flowers in my life, but the one that stands out as the most romantic was a little bunch of wildflowers presented to me many years ago by my then-partner. He kissed me hello and shrugged, “I saw these growing on the side of the road. They were so pretty and colorful, made me think of you."

Amid reports that Daniel Craig has hung up his Bond boots once and for all, speculation about who will take his place is rife.

Prince’s autopsy has determined that the artist died of an accidental overdose of the synthetic opioid fentanyl. The news comes on the heels of the death of former Megadeth drummer Nick Menza, who collapsed on stage and died in late May.

It’s never too late to pick up a musical instrument. In fact there are many reasons why it’s a great idea, particularly in old age.

Have you ever been listening to a great piece of music and felt a chill run up your spine? Or goosebumps tickle your arms and shoulders?

Music and movies are umbilically entwined in the films of Martin Scorsese. It’s almost impossible to think of his cinema without the propulsive accompaniment of a track by The Rolling Stones, Muddy Waters, Eric Clapton, a Neapolitan street singer or any number of other smaller and even obscure doo-wop, Latino, Brill Building and r “n” b wonders of the 1950s, 60s and early 70s.

Geezers and girls literally ain’t allowed to use slang words like “emosh” (emotional) anymore. The head teacher and staff of an academy in Essex, England appear to have taken great pleasure in banning the type of slang used in reality television series TOWIE, including many of the words in the above sentence, in a bid to improve the job prospects of their students.

Research shows meaningful films, in particular those that depict values of love, kindness, and connectedness, go a long way toward changing your worldview.

Music and dance are far from idle pastimes. They are universal forms of expression and deeply rewarding activities that fulfil diverse social functions. Both feature in all the world’s cultures and throughout history.

Netflix has been in the headlines a lot recently, and not in a good way. There’s news about competitor Amazon launching a monthly video service, subscription fees going up, its library of content shrinking and lower global subscriber gains than the company had anticipated.

Just as the world was recovering from the shock of the untimely death of Prince, Beyoncé released Lemonade, her sixth studio album and her second “visual album”. Unlike its predecessor, which featured individual music videos for each track, a single one-hour film was aired on HBO to coincide with the release.

How’s this for a shock, horror headline: “Tone-deaf professor of Music at Liverpool University”. Can it be true? Well, up to a point, yes. It’s complex.

The long-anticipated Captain America: Civil War has just hit cinemas. The latest instalment in the Marvel Cinematic Universe brings to a head a problem that has been brewing for years: whether superheroes should be directed by government organisations.