Speed of Life

by Gregg Chadwick Yesterday in Coventry, Bruce Springsteen dedicated a live full-album performance of  Born to Run  to the recently-departed actor James Gandolfini. Born to Run is a cinematic album that conjures up the  noirish romance of New York and New Jersey seen through the eyes of a youthful protagonist. Unspoken desires and Jersey lowlifes haunt this character as he roams a landscape of broken dreams from the break of day until the dark morning hours.   Gandolfini's characters seemed to embody this endless search for something more, something bigger, something more real.  Gandolfini will be deeply missed. Video: Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band Play Meeting Across The River  for James Gandolfini in Coventry on June 20, 2013 Little Steven and James Gandolfini on April 7, 2002, during a Hard Rock Cafe Presents "Little Steven's Underground Garage" radio show at the Hard Rock Cafe in New York. photo by Kevin Mazur / Wi...

Magritte Olympia oil on canvas 1948 Musée Magritte Olympia painted in 1948 by Belgian surrealist René Magritte was stolen today by gun wielding thieves in a daylight heist at the Musée Magritte. The museum is housed in Magritte's former residence just outside Brussels and is dedicated to Magritte's art and life. The Times online interviewed Johan Berckman’s, a policeman at the scene, who said: “At 10.10am this morning (24 Sept 2009) someone rang the bell of the museum asking if they could visit. He was let in and when he was inside he pulled out a pistol and ordered the woman to go back to the door to let a second person come inside. “There were three museum workers inside at the time and two Japanese tourists. All five of them were ordered out the back and told to keep quiet by the man with the gun. “In the museum the other person stole the painting and they both made good their escape. They seemed to know which painting they wanted to steal - they took the whole painting o...