“Going home for holidays I noticed that buzzwords had come and perhaps already gone—nerd, dink—without my ever using them. Editors were forever picking up Italianisms in my writing. Setting a new story in England I began to feel vulnerable. Often Italian expressions came to mind when what I needed was English. Even Italian situations. Often English expressions came to mind that quite likely no one was using any more.”
What’s The Meaning Of Photos Taken From Behind Their Subjects?
“One of my first photo teachers told me to avoid making this kind of portrait at all costs – their recommendation (or commandment!) was meant as an encouragement – to get to know people, explore something deeper, make a connection or challenge me to engage on a deeper level. But what can this sometimes frowned-upon approach disclose in gesture or body language?”
Tehran Book Fair Has A Photo Booth Where People Pose In Front Of Syrian War Rubble
“One woman is seen posing with a grenade in her hand. A man had his photo taken with a little boy sitting on his lap.” Weirder still is who put the booth there.
A New Complete Version Of Copland’s ‘Appalachian Spring’
Copland originally composed his score for Martha Graham’s dance piece for only 13 instruments, and when he later expanded the music for full symphony orchestra, he abridged it into a suite. Eugene Ormandy once asked the composer to restore the cuts and orchestrate the full-length score, but the project was never finished – until now.
Using Shadow Puppets To Recreate A Medieval Persian Epic
Iranian-American graphic artist Hamid Rahmanian has combined computer generated background with the centuries-old techniques of shadow puppetry – common in the medieval Near East but since lost – to perform an adaptation of a Romeo-and-Juliet-style episode from the Shahnameh.
Canadian School Boy Appears To Have Discovered Lost Ancient Mayan City
“Studying 22 different constellations, William found that they matched the location of 117 Mayan cities scattered throughout Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador. When he applied his theory to a 23rd constellation, he found that two of the stars already had cities linked to them but that the third star was unmatched.”
Isao Tomita, 84, Pioneer Of Music For Moog Synthesizer
“The weirdest thing about Tomita’s electronic music is that it almost never happened. … He was uninterested in the military marches that he heard on the radio as a young child. His attitude toward music changed when the war ended and his family’s radio started picking up broadcasts from the occupying American forces. Suddenly, jazz, Latin, classical and a host of other exotic genres rushed in to his living room.”
Five Young Egyptians Arrested For Facebook Videos Making Fun Of President
The young men, all between 19 and 21 and members of a satirical group called Awlad al-Shawarea (“Children of the Streets”), “have been accused of ‘inciting anti-government protests’ and ‘insulting state institutions.'”
Amazon Already Runs Its Own Version Of Netflix; Now It’s Starting Its Own YouTube
“With the launch of Amazon Video Direct, open to any video creator, the e-commerce giant will compete head-to-head with Google’s YouTube for video-ad dollars and views as well as other big Internet video distributors like Facebook and Vimeo.”
New York’s New Museum Plans Ambitious Expansion
“At a time when the Whitney Museum of American Art has opened a sleek new building and the Museum of Modern Art is also expanding, having just announced a $100 million gift from a single donor, David Geffen, the New Museum’s initiative might seem almost modest. But for an institution that began in 1977 in a single room and now has an annual operating budget of only $13 million (MoMA’s budget is $147 million a year), the campaign is a turning point, the largest fund-raising effort in its history.”
A First Look At Washington DC’s New National African American Museum
“Museum officials on Tuesday offered a sneak peek at the 400,000-square-foot museum, the 19th of the Smithsonian Institution, that’s next to the Washington Monument. President Obama is expected to cut the ribbon on the dramatic space, which features layers of galleries focused on slavery, segregation and the civil rights movement as well as music, entertainment, sports and politics.”
Michael Billington: Why Star Ratings Are A Very Bad Idea For Theatre
“For works of art it is extremely unhelpful as we all know works of arts are enigmatic, complicated things.” He went on to argue that stars did not leave much room for “ambiguity” with certain productions, where a “wonderful play has been given a poor production” or vice versa.
White Woman Sues Getty For Discrimination. Don’t Laugh, This Could Change Diversity Hiring Programs
“The discrimination lawsuit filed in Los Angeles Superior Court is no laughing matter. If the case were to be decided in court, it could be precedent-setting, affecting the ways that private foundations approach issues of diversity.”
Paris Wants To Make The Seine Swimmable By 2024
The plan was announced as part of Paris’s bid for the 2024 Olympics, and there’s even talk of staging the triathlon’s swimming event in the river. But cleaning up the Seine will be complicated and expensive, and it’s not certain that the city could pull it off.
New York’s Bloody Shakespeare Riot Of 1849
“The affair began as a grudge match between two actors, but escalated into a street riot outside the Astor Place Opera House in which at least 22 people died. The Astor Place Riot still counts as one of the bloodiest episodes in New York’s history. The cause of the incident seems, by contemporary standards, hard to credit: who played the better Macbeth – an Englishman or an American?”
Ballet Star Lashes Out At Reviewer’s Alleged Criticism Of His Ginger Hair And Pale Skin
Edward Watson of the Royal Ballet in London: “There’s one particular tw** who still writes, ‘Oh, he’s still there with his horrible ginger hair and his horrible pale skin’ and you just think, is it really relevant to talk about someone’s skin and hair in a review? I find that kind of ridiculous.”
La Scala’s Ballet Dancers Publicly Object To New Director’s Program For Next Season
“At the close of today’s press conference at La Scala to announce Mauro Bigonzetti’s 2016-2017 season, fifty or so company dancers arrived to protest at the repertoire proposed. … [They complain] that the season has ‘too little classical [ballet] and wasn’t in line with company’s tradition.'”
Here Are The Issues Surrounding The BBC And The Renewal Of Its Charter
Steven Erlanger explains for us overseas folks the controversy surrounding the public broadcaster and the Conservative government’s plans for it.
After A 70-Year Career In France And Worldwide, Charles Aznavour Tries His First American Musical
“Of course, the subject is French: the artist Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec cavorting in the scandalous Montmartre district of Paris. And the show’s music brings the sound of Gallic authenticity. But there are also major Broadway names attached to the work, titled My Paris, which opens at the Long Wharf Theater [in New Haven] this week.”
Sylvia Kauders, 94, Philly PR Legend Who Took Up Acting In Her 60s
After a decades-long career as director of special events for the city of Philadelphia, Kauders decided to try for the career she’d secretly wanted since second grade. She went on to play bit parts in dozens of TV shows, from Law and Order: SVU to The Sopranos, and in films ranging from Witness to American Splendor to Predator 2 (she’s the one who went after the alien with a broom).
Top Posts From AJBlogs 05.10.16
New vs. Existing: A Time for Every Patron
As a chief marketing officer, consultant and now managing director, I’ve participated in my fair share of marketing committee meetings. One of the most hotly debated topics is whether to focus resources on developing new audiences or on increasing loyalty … read more
AJBlog: Engaging Matters Published 2016-05-10
Christie’s Gets It Done: My Storify on Tonight’s Solid Contemporary Sale
Christie’s tonight pulled the art market out of its Sotheby’s-induced funk with a Post-War/Contemporary sale that hummed along nicely from beginning to end, with one manic moment … read more
AJBlog: CultureGrrl Published 2016-05-10
Satin and Furs and Love of Dancing
New York City Ballet’s Spring Gala celebrates with new ballets and a recent masterwork. … read more
AJBlog: Dancebeat Published 2016-05-10
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Those Huge Online Video Viewer Numbers? Don’t Believe Them
“The conflation of digital and traditional viewership metrics has gotten under the skin of TV people, and for good reason. If advertisers can be hoodwinked into believing that a sizable number of people are actually watching things on Facebook Live, they will direct their money online, where the ad rates are much, much lower than they are on TV.”
Jian Ghomeshi Strikes To Deal To Avoid Second Sexual Assault Trial
“The former radio host will appear in court on Wednesday, almost one month earlier than he was slated to go to trial on a single charge of sexual assault … At that time, Mr. Ghomeshi is expected to sign a peace bond that would prompt the Crown to withdraw the charge.” At a high-profile trial in March, Ghomeshi was acquitted on a separate set of charges due to misconduct by the accusers.
UK Government Drops Plans To Privatize Channel Four
“Ministers have considered plans including a £1bn selloff of the broadcaster, which on Tuesday reported record revenues of almost £1bn and the first audience growth at its main channel in a decade. But they are now understood to have dropped plans for a full sale of the state-owned, commercially-funded broadcaster, instead focusing on selling a minority stake to a strategic partner such as BT.”