We get constant messages about what’s going on inside our bodies, sensations we can either attend to or ignore. And we belong to tribes that cosset and guide us. Still, we “insist that the brain is the sole locus of thinking. – The New York Times
Big Thinker Edward de Bono, 88
Through his 60-plus books, including The Mechanism of Mind (1969), Six Thinking Hats (1985), How to Have A Beautiful Mind (2004) and Think! Before It’s Too Late (2009), as well as seminars, training courses and a BBC television series, De Bono sought to free us from the tyranny of logic through creative thinking. – The Guardian
Jon Meacham, The Ubiquitous Historian
He is the intellectual of the moment, this soft-spoken biographer of great men. Meacham whispers in the president’s ear and appears on TV constantly. – Harper’s
Have A Look At The New ‘Pop-Up’ Grand Palais In Paris
“The Grand Palais Éphémère, the €40 million temporary building that will host the Fiac and Paris Photo art fairs in Paris while the Grand Palais undergoes renovation, is opening on Saturday on the Champ-de-Mars overlooking the Eiffel Tower.” – Artnet
When A Movie Understands A Generational Dilemma
In the Heights might have opened to disappointing box office numbers this weekend, but those who did see it had the chance to learn about second-generation immigrants’ dreams – and, through an elderly character, reality. “The classic peril of assimilation in America is that a perceived greater belonging demands a partial loss of self,” but Abuela Claudia’s character offers more. – The Atlantic
Everybody Plagiarizes
And that’s fine. “Published authors, more often than not famous ones, have had few scruples when it comes to committing literary larceny. ‘Authors are like privateers,’ claimed Samuel Johnson, ‘always fair game for one another.'” – The Smart Set
Brexit May Cause A Royal Mess With Copyright, Authors Warn
Living authors like Kate Mosse and Philip Pullman are worried because as Britain exits the EU, protections have changed. “Authors and publishers fear that changing the rules could mean that cheap international editions of a book would pour into the UK, eroding the money authors could make from a domestic sale.” – The Guardian (UK)
HBO Max Walks A Tightrope Of Media Rights
Success in streaming, as Netflix has shown, ultimately requires reaching subscribers in every corner of the planet. But taking a streaming service around the world is complicated and expensive. It involves creating locally-sourced shows in multiple languages and navigating regions that don’t have reliable broadband or many consumers with credit cards. For HBO Max, it also means deciding when is the right time to give up revenue from licensing deals. – Los Angeles Times
Why Has Philosophy Failed?
For almost any abstract notion, some philosopher has wondered what it really is. Yet, despite this wealth of questions and the centuries spent tackling them, philosophers haven’t successfully provided any answers. They’ve tried long and hard but nothing they’ve said towards answering those questions has quite made the grade. – Aeon
Behind The Debate On Critical Race Theory
“The debate isn’t about whether there’s been racism; it’s about what racism has meant and what it’s done to America. Is it something that’s been progressively overcome as we move toward fulfilling our national ideals, or is it something that’s been a constant force in society, making society itself irredeemably racist?” – Christian Science Monitor
Carlos Acosta Calls For Ballet That Reflects Now
“I don’t want to keep riding with [my] own Swan Lake or The Nutcracker – that’s fine, I love them, that made my career – but what else can I bring that speaks about me now? That’s why every time I do programming, I encourage choreographers and collaborators to go towards that direction.” – The Stage
As LA’s Center Theatre Group Director Retires, The Enterprise Needs A Rethink
“The character of Michael Ritchie’s audience has not been shaped in this devout manner. The marketing of hits has replaced more time-consuming forms of outreach. On the level of scale, this may make sense. But theater isn’t a traditional business. And while loyalty may not register on year-end financial statements, it pays long-term dividends.” – Los Angeles Times
So Women Can’t Act In ‘Godot’, Eh? Take *This*, Beckett Estate!
In Godot Is a Woman by the theatre company Silent Faces, “three glum, bowler-hatted clowns … are waiting for the Beckett estate to answer their call about performance rights for Godot. They wait … and they wait, until a message that they have moved up to eighth in the queue sends them into a [dance routine]. … They become theatre historians, listing all the productions that have been banned, then judge and jury in a travesty trial of the Beckett estate.” – The Guardian
Gottfried Böhm, The German Expressionist Of Brutalist Architects, Dead At 101
He was one of postwar German’s most prominent architects, and had been the country’s only living Pritzker Prize winner. “His most revered works resemble jagged concrete mountains, among them the town hall in Bensberg in western Germany that he shaped as a grand fortress and crown of the city. So too the massive pilgrimage church in Neviges, near Düsseldorf, seems to have been hewn out of the rock and built to last for eternity. What looks so heavy from the outside yet appears almost weightless inside.” – Deutsche Welle
Narendra Modi Launches A Culture War Against Bollywood
“[The Indian Prime Minister’s Hindu nationalist government] is using powerful tools to curtail the creative freedom of Bollywood — in particular the influence of Muslims, who have an outsize presence in the industry. The measures pushed by the Modi government include indiscriminate tax investigations, trumped-up accusations against actors and directors, intimidation and harassment in response to certain movies and TV shows, and the chilling rap of law enforcement at the door.” – The Atlantic
Do You Know About Virtual YouTube?
A virtual YouTube is a channel that follows an animated or virtual character instead of a real-life person. These virtual YouTubers (VTubers for short) first became popular in Japan in the mid-2010s, and now have spread around the world. – Slate
By The Numbers: Who Are The Bosses At US Ballet Companies And What Are They Paid?
“[This new report finds] that the position of Artistic Director is held by far more men than women, while the position of Executive Director is much more equitably distributed. However, in both Artistic and Executive Director roles, men are compensated at a higher rate than their female counterparts.” (One prominent detail: Peter Martins earned way more than anyone else — though one must grant that New York City Ballet is three times the size of the country’s next largest company, San Francisco Ballet.) – Dance Data Project
Scottish Government Gives Multi-Million Rescue Package To Edinburgh Festivals
“The Edinburgh festivals have been offered millions of pounds in emergency funding in the face of widespread fears they may never fully recover from the severe impacts of the COVID pandemic. The Fringe, international and book festivals, which help make up the world’s largest annual arts season, have been forced to very significantly curtail this August’s events, the second year running it has done so.” – The Guardian
Britain Now Has Its First All-Black-Female Shakespeare Troupe
Says actor Gabrielle Brooks, one of four co-founders of the Mawa Theatre Company, “Shakespeare remains a staple of British theatre. He’s still the most produced playwright in the world and I think if we want to tackle diversity, representation and inclusion, then why not start with the Bard himself? … If we can, as black British women, embed ourselves into the history of classical texts, then I think we can bring about real change.” – The Guardian
Sampling Beats and Youth Research Participants – in Real Time
In research terms, a convenience sample is a group of folks who feature in a study because — well, they happened to be there. And yet, under the right conditions — especially in program design and development — access to study subjects “in the right place at the right time” can prove extraordinarily helpful. Also, let’s face it: COVID-19 has upended our notions of “convenience” altogether. Amid these challenges, YR Media has made admirable progress. – Sunil Iyengar
From “Cole Toll” to Turnpike Toll: Newark’s “Arch of Nero” Relocates 87 Miles South to Philly
I hope that officials of the Newark Museum of Art felt at least a twinge of seller’s remorse (if not a rush of shame) after reading the Philadelphia Museum of Art’s lavish praise of the painting that Linda Harrison, Newark’s director, had deemed expendable. – Lee Rosenbaum
In Vegas, The Shows Are Coming Back. Will The Tourists Come To See Them?
“The change since last spring, as measured by the return of surging morning-to-midnight crowds, is head-snapping. While just 106,900 tourists visited Las Vegas in April 2020, according to the Convention and Visitors Authority, some 2.6 million people visited this April — a big rebound, but still almost a million shy of what the city was attracting before the pandemic.” – The New York Times
Performance Venues Are COVID-Safe At Full Capacity If Audience Wears Masks: Study
“According to the results, the wearing of masks cuts the spread of aerosol droplets by 99 per cent, with those transmitted also travelling much more slowly. Professor of biophotonics at [University College London], Laurence Lovat, says: ‘Andrew Lloyd Webber is right. If theatre-goers wear appropriate masks and follow other rules already in place, theatres become safe places to go to.'” – WhatsOnStage (London)