“The Music and Culture Coalition of New Orleans (MACCNO), a local advocacy group, issued a statement that, in part, noted that what wasn’t spelled out in the plan was as concerning as what was. So what exactly happens at 3 a.m.? While the draft didn’t get into specifics, city officials suggested that people on the street would then be “encouraged” to go inside or go home.”
When Writers Live With Writers Who Are Family Members
“If you have a famous name, you are probably judged a little more harshly. There’s a prejudice that can be slightly burdensome, or merely a little irritating. The presumption is that someone wrote the book for you, or that you never had to work hard to survive.”
A Case For “Slow” Science (Think Slow Food)
“The gap between identifying a problem to be solved, devising a technique and then putting it to work – a step often not even on the radar of those who initiated the process – can last a century or more. That poses a challenge to policymakers keen to evince the returns that money spent on R&D will generate. Although everyone knows they will come, no one knows how long they will take.”
New Yorker Report: Inside Reinventing The Oscars (Some Historical Perspective)
“Throughout the spring of 2016, Academy librarians worked overtime scrutinizing older members’ credits, as the board of governors fielded frantic calls from members asking if they were marked for demotion. When the board held its elections last summer, a handful of candidates ran on an anti-reform platform, among them the composer William Goldstein, who railed against the Academy’s response to “false accusations of implied racism.” They all lost, and Boone Isaacs was reëlected—indicating that her critics were louder than they were numerous.”
The Post-Circus Circus
The circus, for many, represents nostalgia for a “simpler” past — although that past can be tricky to reconcile with the injustices embedded in history. Still, there’s something inherently entertaining about a circus. So the new circuses aim to define what that is…
European Union Baroque Orchestra Decides To Relocate Out Of Britain Because Of Brexit
General manager Emma Wilkinson said that while no one knows what the future may look like, the orchestra decided that moving to Antwerp now would be wise. She fears that the loss of free movement would make life for musicians very difficult: “I do worry that European orchestras will not be inviting talented British musicians to work with them. It will just be too bureaucratically difficult.”
Richard Schickel, Long The Film Critic At Time, Has Died At 84
“In a career spanning five decades, thousands of reviews and dozens of books, Schickel chronicled Hollywood’s changing landscape, from the days when studios reigned with stars such as Katharine Hepburn to the rise of independent directors who summoned a new wave of realism that distilled the yearnings of a turbulent nation. A reviewer for Time magazine, Schickel had a legion of followers; he could be incisive and at times bruising in praising or panning a film.”
Does The Cleveland Orchestra Have A Future In Miami?
Or rather, is its future going to be trimmed? “Miami is expensive. Everything from lodging and food to transportation costs a pretty penny down there, and the orchestra is an enormous outfit. If saving money is a goal, an effective move would be to reduce the amount of time the ensemble spends there.”
Greece Is Having A Moment
That is, ancient Greece: “The times we are living in have forced us to acknowledge that there is a darkness in humanity. … The Greek tragedies, those stories of darkness and obsession and revenge, resonate because we’re living in dark times and these are dark stories.”
Against The Odds, These Two Actors Appear Together In Two Best Picture Nominees
In a banner year for movies with black actors in the lead, Mahershala Ali and Janelle Monáe both created breakthrough performances in “Moonlight.” They cemented their year with their work in “Hidden Figures.” For Ali, the recognition comes after decades of a steady acting career; for Monáe, a successful musician, “Moonlight” was her first time onscreen.
One Neuroscientist Wants To Understand Why People Who See UFOs Seem To Feel Really, Really Good
Wait, what? Instead of becoming hostile or paranoid or more like Fox Mulder, 85 percent of people who believe they’ve encountered UFOs or aliens “become more humane, experience a oneness with the world. They become less interested in organized religion, they become more spiritual, they have less interest in monetary values, and become more sensitive to the ecological welfare of our planet, among many other psychospiritual outcomes.”
The Art Market: A Partner (Witting Or Un-) In Crime
The secrecy of the seller might have to go the way of an expectation of no selfies at museums, but for better reasons: “This sort of discretion — one founded in a simpler time, when only a few wealthy collectors took part in the art market — is not only quaint but also reckless when art is traded like a commodity and increasingly suspected in money laundering.”
The Choir For The Tone Deaf That Sings In The Heart Of Opera Country
The director, a mezzo-soprano in the symphony choir of Milan, says that it’s rare for people to be truly tone deaf – though in Italy, a land with little public music education, they may believe themselves to be so. She says, “Most people who come to the choir only have to learn how to listen, though that is the most difficult thing.”
Arts Groups Make Battle Plans For After Trump’s Cuts
Sure, federal funding for the arts in the United States is already at a low, but it’s”much-needed money that supports community projects, new works and making the arts accessible to people in different parts of the country and to those who are not wealthy. And after years of culture-war debates in which conservatives took aim at the programs, questioning their value, arts groups are pressing the case that the federal money they receive supports organizations — and jobs — in all 50 states, both red and blue.”
Top Posts From AJBlogs For The Weekend Of 02.19.17
2017 Portland Festival Report No. 1
The Branford Marsallis Quartet and singer Kurt Elling combined in the first major concert of the 2017 Portland, Oregon PDX Jazz Festival. A packed audience in the capacious Newmark Theater heard a … read more
AJBlog: RiffTidesPublished 2017-02-18
The Martha Graham Dance Company’s New Visions
The Martha Graham Dance Company commissions works by Annie-B Parson, Pontus Lidberg, and Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui. Members of the Martha Graham Dance Company in Annie-B Parson’s I used to love you. (L to R): Anne … read more
AJBlog: DancebeatPublished 2017-02-18
What conservatories should do
What they should do to prepare students for classical music’s future. These are things I said in my talk at the Jacobs School at Indiana University. First, conservatories should make the future of classical music a … read more
AJBlog: SandowPublished 2017-02-17
Your Mood is Understandable, but Unacceptable
I haven’t worn a Mood Ring since the late 1970’s but it’s time for that fad to return. I know, I know… they never really worked all that well. Regardless of how I was feeling … read more
AJBlog: Audience WantedPublished 2017-02-17
Our Cells Can Tell Left From Right, And That Actually Makes A Difference In Cancer Recovery
Each cell has a preference – a “handedness,” they call it, and that may make a difference in cell repair, in cancer, and in survival. “Ramsdell and a cadre of other developmental biologists are trying to unravel why the organisms can tell their right from left. It’s a complex process, but the key orchestrators of the handedness of life are beginning to come into clearer focus.”