Of Art Thieves, Elton John, and the MGM Lion
Stealing Millions
Art heists fascinate me. The planning, execution, and above all, daring that it takes to break into heavily guarded museums and steal millions of dollars worth of art is mind-boggling. How do you walk away with Monets and Picassos and Rembrandts? Where do you keep them? How do you sell them? The answer to that last question is—not very easily. In this 2012 interview with The Atlantic, the founder of the FBI’s art crime team Robert Wittman discusses why art criminals are good thieves but terrible businessmen.
Roar
I love irrelevant trivia like this: the MGM lion isn’t one single lion but has been seven different ones! In September 1927, Jackie (the then-MGM lion) was in a plane that crashed, and he thankfully survived.
The pilot, Martin Jenson, left Jackie in the cage with the supply of milk, water and sandwiches before he went for help. After four days, Martin was found and taken to a telephone. He called MGM. Their first question was “How’s the lion?”
Mashable published a great series of photographs of Leo (as the MGM lion is called) on set, including one where he’s hanging with a slightly terrified looking Greta Garbo.
Creativity vs. The Day Job
Have you heard of Frances (Franny) Burney? She was a best-selling author at 26, the most successful female novelist of her time (and so acknowledged at the time), and seemingly had it all. But her career stagnated, and Franny wrote far fewer great books than she was capable of. Turns out some things still haven't changed since the 18th century.
The Lives of Nonagenarians
Lydia Sohn, a minister and writer, asked a few 90-something-year-olds about their lives for her beautiful article in Human Parts—their regrets, happiest moments, relationships, achievements…
Put simply, when I asked one person, “Do you wish you accomplished more?” He responded, “No, I wished I loved more.”
It’s a moving piece about a generation we tend to forget—those who have lived long lives and have rich stories to tell, who have loved and lost more than the young. Don’t be surprised if you get misty-eyed reading it.
What Becomes of the Brokenhearted?
There’s an episode of Grey’s Anatomy where a woman in a long, loving marriage, returns to the ER every year on the exact same day with chest pains. Her symptoms mimic those of a heart attack, but she isn’t actually having one—every year, on the anniversary of the death of her soulmate, she has stress-induced cardiomyopathy or “broken-heart syndrome”. It’s not something invented at the writers’ table but a real condition that this article in Nautilus takes a deeper look at.
There’s a new Elton John song!
Written by Elton and Bernie Taupin for Elton’s biopic Rocketman, this one’s an Elton and Taron Egerton duet, and it’s absolutely fabulous. (If you haven’t already, watch the movie. Run, don’t walk).
The Awkard Yeti makes me laugh every time.
Can anyone else relate?
Photo by Igor Miske on Unsplash
Thanks for reading! I’m Shivani, a writer & editor, caffeine addict, and runner who loves tacos and has no hand-eye co-ordination. You can find me on Twitter at @wordsbyshivani.
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