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Neil Sheehan, 84, NYT Vietnam Reporter Who Got The Pentagon Papers

"Mr. Sheehan, the son of impoverished Irish-immigrant dairy farmers, graduated from Harvard University and served in the Army before joining the United Press International wire service. Reporting from Saigon in the early 1960s, he became known as one of the “fearless threesome” of Vietnam War correspondents." - The New York Times

A New “Arts Worker” Movement

Built on the concept of the “arts worker” — an immense labor category representing 8.8 million Americans doing everything from designing clothing to sweeping museum floors — this movement asserts that the arts are as foundational as farming or manufacturing. And its focus is not so much public relations as it is survival, an aim reinforced daily by the financial...

Why Are A Bunch Of Teens Convinced That Helen Keller Wasn’t Deaf-Blind?

Blame TikTok and the pathologies of social media in the age of fake news. A couple of (so-called) satirical videos were posted last year on the app; teens picked up on them and made their own vids joining in; as #helenkellerisfake and #helenkellerhateclub got millions of views, the facts that Keller was world-famous for what she achieved and died...

What Dallas Black Dance Theatre Learned About Virtual Performance And Charging For It

Dallas Black Dance Theatre envisions and is now developing a full complement of virtual activities. These include conservatory-level dance training at the same professional level as in-studio classes, student matinee/field trips, lecture/demonstrations, in-school dance residency programs, community outreach, and touring programs made available to presenters, as well as a home-school education program for those looking to incorporate dance into...

‘Now I’m Sounding Like One Of My Characters’ — Suzan-Lori Parks On Playwriting

"It's like what 'Michelangelo' said, right? He's working with the marble and taking away everything that's not the sculpture. And let's put Michelangelo in quotes, 'cause was he really the one who actually said that? But, anyway, the idea still holds. I feel that whatever I'm writing exists already. … Like I'm following something through the woods. Eyes open....

We’ve Become Much Nicer At Waging War

We have, in fact, become nicer and less violent as individuals. We may have domesticated ourselves by our choice of mates and by breeding out those who are most violent, or killing those who are most violent among us, like the way wolves have been domesticated into friendly dogs who sit on your lap. We may have become nicer...

‘Star Wars’ Fan Fiction Video Is All Over The Place — And Disney Is Fine With It

"Such films have existed almost as long as the franchise itself. Early examples were spoofs, like the 1978 short Hardware Wars and a 1997 Stormtrooper-centric sendup of Cops called Troops. Lucasfilm held annual fan-movie contests in the decade before Disney acquired the company in 2012. But Disney's stewardship, coupled with the wide availability of higher-quality moviemaking tools, has inaugurated...

What Does It Actually Mean To Live In The Now?

The singularity of the now might appear to be a deep and profound insight. It’s the springboard for various more practical strategies for achieving enlightenment and self-enhancement. But the claim that it is always now is so trivial that it can’t support any interesting inference, and there are other ways of justifying these same strategies and practices. - Aeon

Medieval Silver Hoard Unearthed In Polish Village

Archaeologists from the Polish Academy of Sciences discovered a ceramic vessel containing well over 6,000 coins and rings as well as silver bullion near a village in central Poland, not far from the site of the country's largest-ever treasure find in 1935. Researchers believe that this hoard may have been the dowry of a 12th-century Kievan princess who married...

Connecting Learning Music With Medical Workers

In a six-week pilot collaboration between New England Conservatory and Massachusetts General Hospital this fall, the Boston Hope Music Teaching Project connected teaching fellows from NEC with frontline health care workers for weekly private music lessons. The goal wasn’t to teach them skill or technique, but to provide a refuge from day-to-day life on the COVID ward. - Boston...

Venice’s Mayor Wants Museums To Stay Closed, And Half The Town is Furious

"The decision by Luigi Brugnaro, the mayor of Venice, to extend the closure of the city's 11 civic museums — including the Doge's Palace, the Museo Correr, Ca' Rezzonico, Ca' Pesaro and Palazzo Fortuny — until 1 April, the beginning of the tourist season, has provoked a culture war in Venice and beyond. Italy's museums have been closed since...

France’s Cultural Venues Will Be Closed All Month

"Prime Minister Jean Castex confirmed … museums, cinemas, theaters, concert halls and gyms 'will not in the weeks to come'." Venues had opened in the late summer with safety measures but closed again on Oct. 30 as COVID's second wave swelled; planned reopenings announced for Dec. 15 and then Jan. 7 were called off as new cases...

Consider The Word ‘Sedition’

"Sedition — Merriam-Webster defines it as 'incitement of resistance to or insurrection against lawful authority' — is a word that echoes across American history, archaic yet familiar. Historically, charges of sedition have just as often been used to quash dissent … as they have to punish actual threats to government stability or functioning. But to many scholars and historians,...

Simon & Schuster Cancels Sen. Josh Hawley’s Book In Wake Of Capitol Riot

From the company's announcement: "We did not come to this decision lightly. As a publisher it will always be our mission to amplify a variety of voices and viewpoints: at the same time we take seriously our larger public responsibility as citizens, and cannot support Senator Hawley after his role in what became a dangerous threat to our democracy...

Montreal Symphony’s Next Music Director Is Rafael Payare

A graduate of Venezuela's El Sistema, the 40-year-old music director of the San Diego Symphony begins a five-year term at the Maison symphonique in the fall of 2022. Payare's San Diego contract currently runs through 2025-26; he says he plans to keep both jobs, with 14 to 16 weeks per season in Montreal and 10 per season in San...

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