“Our new engines of prediction are able to make more accurate predictions and to make predictions in domains that we used to think were impervious to them because this new technology can handle far more data, constrained by fewer human expectations about how that data fits together, with more complex rules, more complex interdependencies, and more sensitivity to starting points.” But with that benefit, we need to give up on our belief in stories and the theory of mind, not to mention our reliance on always being able to uncover knowable laws. – Medium
“The Dark Ages” Sound So Bleak. The Reality Was Likely Very Different
The default way of thinking about the long, complex era that lasted from the final decades of the Roman Empire to somewhere around the Battle of Hastings is to assume it all looked like the cover of a heavy metal album… – Lithub
Duke Ellington’s melodies carried his message of social justice
“At a moment when there is a longstanding heated debate over how artists and pop culture figures should engage in social activism, the life and career of musical legend Edward Kennedy ‘Duke’ Ellington offers a model of how to do it right.” – The Conversation
After Newspaper Feature About Young Cellist With Troubled Past, $141,000 In Donations Pour In
“Eddie Adams didn’t have the money to buy college textbooks this semester, so he had to rely on his classmates at George Mason University to loan him theirs. He is the principal cellist in the school orchestra, but he couldn’t afford to buy or even rent a cello. That, too, he had to borrow. That was two weeks ago.” – The Washington Post
Despite Controversy, Edinburgh’s New Concert Hall Gets Final Go-Ahead
The Dunard Centre, with a 1,000-seat main auditorium and a 200-seat chamber hall/recording studio, will be the home venue for the Scottish Chamber Orchestra and an additional performance space for the Edinburgh International Festival. – Edinburgh Evening News
Author Susan Choi Says ‘Harmful Stories Are On The Rise’
The author of The Trust Exercise was doing research about cults, Scientology, and some of the power of repetition in molding disparate people into one focused group. But, she says, that wasn’t her intention in writing her book: “I never outline in advance and most of the time I have no idea, in advance, how something is going to end.” – The Millions
Scientists Make Progress On Decoding Speech Inside The Brain
Although still a long way from restoring natural speech, researchers at the University of California, San Francisco, have generated intelligible sentences from the thoughts of people without speech difficulties. – Scientific American
The Culture Of Competitive Masculinity At The Iowa Writers’ Workshop
This “masculinist logic” infected the classroom. Criticism had always been central to the Workshop experience, and it was harsh by design. Engle believed “that young writers overestimated their creative powers, a flaw that only astringent criticism could overcome.” Cisneros put it more simply: “There was no love.” The poet Robert Bly described how “the aggression went against each other,” as students tore apart works in progress. Praise was uneven, and favoritism was everywhere. – The New Republic
Mark Medoff, Playwright Of ‘Children Of A Lesser God’, Dead At 79
“Medoff wrote 30 plays and wrote, produced or directed 19 movies. He found his greatest success with Children of a Lesser God, the tale of a troubled love affair between a speech teacher and a deaf woman who struggle to overcome the communications gap between their two cultures.” – AP
Major Study: Worldwide, People Are Angrier, Sadder Than Ever Before
In 2018, about 4 in 10 people said they experienced a lot of worry the day before the interview, while a third said they were stressed and nearly 3 in 10 said they felt a lot of physical pain. A quarter experienced sadness, and 22% were angry. – CNN
Fitness Companies Are Becoming Entertainment Companies. Publishers Have Sued Peloton Over Music And Customers Are Noticing
It may seem silly to lament over music selections in an exercise class, but it’s an issue that fitness companies may increasingly face as they transform from traditional health companies into media publishers. Let’s face it: working out can be boring, and people are willing to pay top dollar to have someone yell at us while sweating to the latest Migos track. – The Verge
Multi-Dimensional Theatre: Shakespeare Performed By Cast Split Between Hearing And Deaf Actors
In a first for Canadian mainstage theatre, the 15-member acting ensemble of Josette Bushell-Mingo’s innovative bilingual production, an offshoot of the Citadel/Banff Professional Program, is almost equally divided amongst deaf and hearing artists. They perform in American Sign Language and spoken English — in addition to “the language of the body.” – 12th Night
Happy About The Demise Of The Romantic Comedy? Don’t Be
Wesley Morris: “Romantic comedy is the only genre committed to letting relatively ordinary people figure out how to deal meaningfully with another human being. … This is moviemaking that explores a basic human wonder about how to connect with a person who’s not you. And here we are dancing on its grave.” – The New York Times Magazine
There’s Only One City Where You Can See Four Brand-New Full-Scale Operas In Four Months
“No place on earth rivals Berlin for the volume and variety of opera on offer, from Georg Frideric Handel to Hans Werner Henze. The city has three world-class companies, which this season have combined for a total of 85 fully staged productions. And they are investing in new works to run alongside the old war horses.” – The New York Times
Rahm Emanuel Offers To Mediate The Chicago Symphony Strike
“None of us want to see that jewel tarnished. After speaking with both parties, it appears that we should be able to achieve an end to this seven-week strike. Therefore, I am offering the services of my office to serve as a forum where both parties can work in good faith.” – Chicago Tribune
New Wave Of African-American Playwrights In A Radical Moment
Wesley Morris: “Occasionally, a play ends and nobody really knows what to do, because it just took an audience to outer space, to the center of the earth, to this new electric zone that knows what’s wrong with this country and isn’t afraid to personify it, laugh at it, behold it. … The work is also black — its blackness providing a lens through which to see and be seen.” – The New York Times
Two Lawsuits Challenge Iowa Ban On Any Materials Containing Nudity In Prisons
“Under Iowa’s law, inmates no longer have access to mainstream publications such as National Geographic, says the lawyer Nathan Mundy, who represents Michael Lindgren, a tattoo artist challenging the statute in federal court. Mundy adds that his client is now not even allowed to draw his own nude figures, which will hurt Lindgren’s practice when he is released.” – The Art Newspaper
Why The Dancers’ Union Was Wrong To Push For Amar Ramasar’s And Zachary Catazaro’s Return To New York City Ballet
“In deciding to advocate for these two dancers, AGMA has not only sided with alleged offenders in multiple serious cases of degradation and sexual harassment, but has also sent a clear message to the whole dance community that the redemptive narrative of these male dancers is more important than the trust and safety of their female colleagues.” – Dance Magazine
Charity Tillemann-Dick, Who Kept Singing Opera Even After A Double Lung Transplant, Dead At 35
“[She] was diagnosed with pulmonary hypertension in 2004, forcing her to undergo two emergency lung transplants needed to save her life. Despite her illness Tillemann-Dick pursued a renowned career, performing … across the world.” – BBC
Lebanese Author Hoda Barakat Wins International Prize For Arabic Fiction
“Lebanese author Hoda Barakat has won the $50,000 (£39,000) International prize for Arabic fiction (IPAF) for her novel, The Night Mail, which tells the stories of people in exile through their letters. Billed as the ‘Arabic Booker’, the IPAF also provides funding to translate the book into English.” – The Guardian
Many Rank-And-File Dancers Can’t Afford To Eat Properly — So This Organization Feeds Them
“Dancers will forego eating to take classes,” says Yvonne Chow. So, once a month, DanceMart, operated by H+ | The Hip-Hop Dance Conservatory in New York City, will cook and serve a dinner, teach a class in cooking healthy and inexpensive meals, and send them home with a recipe and the groceries to make it. (There’s a party, too.) Any and every kind of dancer is invited. – Dance Magazine
Dave Samuels, RIP
A Grammy award winner, Samuels was best known for more than three decades as a member of the crossover jazz-fusion band Spyro Gyra. – Doug Ramsey
René Char on Rebirth and Phantoms
Two short excerpts taken from Char’s WWII writings. One concerns a walnut tree; the other speaks about the phantoms of our “empirical souls.” Why post them? And why now? Read them. – Jan Herman
Notre-Dame’s Organ Is Almost Completely Undamaged By Fire
“Pascal Quoirin, a specialist who restored the Notre Dame organ in 2017, … said ‘after two hours spent examining the instrumental part, I did not notice any damage that could have been caused by the fire.'” (Apparently, there is only dust that needs to be cleaned out.) – Yahoo! (AP)