top ten shows of the 21st century The NYT released its list of the top 100 shows for the 21st century. It actually created two lists, one created by selected critics, and one was the "people's choice," presumably NYT readers. Anyway, inspired by these admittedly bogus lists, I thought I would give you my top ten list which varies substantially from the top tens of the NYT. I haven't seen all of the NYT shows, obviously, but I'd be surprised if shows I couldn't be bothered to watch would crack my top ten; that top ten list is very exclusive real estate! After each of my picks, I've put the NYT critics ranking in parentheses. 1. The Wire (2) 2. Chernobyl (19) 3. Normal People (49) 4. Shogun (86) 5. Band of Brothers (28) 6. Adolescence ((40) 7. White Lotus (21) 8. The Handmaid's Tale (67) 9. Succession (4) 10. Mare of Easttown (65) The one show I would have loved to list is Better Call Saul, with better writing and plot than Breaking Bad, but it doesn't quite beat out Mare of Easttown. I would also give honorable mentions to The Pitt, The Bear, and True Detective. Highly rated shows that I didn't care for all that much include Game of Thrones, The Crown, Andor, and Downton Abbey. denmark! l usually update on Sundays but I'm going to start now and add a bit as I go along this week. Keep checking back as I still have a lot of photos from our trip to Denmark to go through, and I want to say more on the pics page as I add more comments. Viking trumpeters, Copenhagen Raduspladsen. The photo on the index page shows the birth site of my grandfather. I'm not sure that building is 120+ years old, but it might be. The upper part of the building looks older and only the lower facade has been modernized. It doesn't matter, really. I thought it was cool that Grandpa remembered his birth address - it gave us a target on this visit, my first real visit to Denmark. The Haida believe in reincarnation, and I believe that our identities are linked to place. This trip to Silkeborg closed a loop that my grandpa opened when he left Denmark 120 years ago. Fredericksborg Castle, Copenhagen. It may take me a few weeks to say all that I want to say about Denmark and this wonderful trip with Mary, Nicole and Sean. The Danes are famous world wide for a culture that sometimes seems like the antithesis of North American culture. Cities and communities are built around family needs. There is a love of bicycles and only a few cars. The Danes love history, art, and food. Sean and Nicole made sure we sampled generously from the food offerings in Denmark. Every morning, Sean would pick out a different highly rated bakery for our coffee and pastries. In the afternoon, we might sample one of their renown craft beers. In the evenings we had some of the very best food in the world. Denmark is famous for its new Nordic cuisine which has created a pinnacle of dining. The ambiance of the restaurants is gorgeous, the service impeccable. You eat around 10 courses, all specially paired with wines that match the dish. The food itself is beautifully presented, different and ineffably delicious. Two of our ten courses at Substans in Aarhus. photos by Mary. I would add that this fine dining experience is not just extravagance. As I said, Danish culture is the opposite of North American culture. Here, we specialize in horrific meat factories, cheap and even toxic ingredients, and fried foods served fast to a single person who consumes it as quickly as possible. In new Nordic cuisine restaurants, eating is a three hour extravaganza of adventure utilizing the best ingredients lovingly prepared and arranged by the world's greatest chefs. Nicole, Sean and Mary in the Rainbow Panorama at ARos. One of my highlights was the ARos art gallery in Aarhus. They were just closing down an exhibit called Human Nature. You know me; I love museums. I actually love the expository plaques in museums. I understand the controversy around this aspect of museums - the complaint being that curation becomes pedantic. But as I've learned more and more about museology while volunteering at MOA, I've come to appreciate the incredible knowledge of these curators, and how much they can enlighten a project to someone encountering it briefly, and maybe only once! So I'm going to quote seven of the plaques that introduced rooms in the Human Nature exhibit. Amalienborg Palace and Marble Church. photo by Mary Landscape A landscape is nature shaped by the human mind. We plant, build and cultivate - and our idea of the landscape is coloured by history. For example, the way early nineteenth-century painters celebrated the Danish landscape still shapes our perception of what is beautiful and distinctly Danish. Through art, we can trace how our view of the landscape changes - from wild and untamed, to managed and cultivated and back again. The huge cliffs of Baffin Island taken from 40,000 feet on the plane trip home. Religion Religion in art can feel like a window into another world. Sometimes it seems distant, mysterious or overwhelmingly beautiful. At other times it touches something familiar and comforting within us. Through great myths, biblical stories and everyday rituals, religious imagery gives us pictures of what lies beyond ourselves. These works remind us that faith and spirituality can shape not only our shared culture, but also our personal outlook on life. Georg Achen The Dream Window in the Old Liselund Castle. 1903. Exploration Human beings are driven by curiosity. We want to understand the world around us, ask questions and search for answers. Faith and knowledge are two different paths towards the same mystery: what does it mean to exist? Faith rests on belief, while science seeks proof - but both are ways of exploring and understanding. We measure and weigh, paint and write. Through our inquiries - rational, creative and spiritual - we create, together, the story of who we are and how we see the world. Society The urge to form communities runs deep within us. We need one another - not just to survive, but to create lives that feel meaningful. A society isn't a single entity. It's made up of many communities, large and small, where we both receive something and choose where we belong. Art reminds us that society and its political and social landscapes are always in motion - shaped by the relationships we enter into and the stories we create together. The Great Hall at Kronborg Castle. Philosophy What do we know? Where do we come from, and where are we headed? How do we find meaning in life? Art can help us see the world in new ways. It finds expressions in images when words are not enough. When art reflects the universal, we're reminded that our own thoughts and experiences are part of a bigger conversation about what it means to be human. Harald Giersing. Young Lady in Pale Blue. 1918. Psychology Art can open the door to our inner worlds. It gives us a way to express dreams and fantasies, feelings and thoughts that are often hard to put into words. A piece of art can make something clear that we usually only faintly sense, or it can spark new images within us. Art doesn't just reflect our outer lives - it also mirrors our invisible inner world and the connections that arise between people. Abstraction Abstraction is all about getting to the heart of things. It's about filtering out the details and focusing on what really matters. Colours, shapes and lines remain as expressions of how we perceive and understand the world. In abstract art, we don't encounter direct representations, but open-ended expressions that leave room for interpretation. Copenhagen opera house with full moon. photo by Mary.