“In my day, anyone who is vaguely educated – in other words, they know where Pakistan was … or that they had a vague idea which century Henry VIII [lived in] – would give you the opportunity for all sorts of humor. … The general feeling is that anything that doesn’t affect you personally is not worth knowing about. … It’s kind of like, ‘Geography? Well, I don’t need to know about that.'”
How Indian Classical Dance Healed A Down’s Syndrome Patient
Hema Ramaswamy, after 13 years of study, recently gave a 2½-hour solo recital. “She was able to achieve this despite her diagnosis and despite two major surgeries for a dangerous leak of cerebrospinal fluid. Her father said dance has strengthened Ramaswamy’s muscles and given her fine motor skills she simply didn’t have before.” (includes audio)
How Robert Mapplethorpe’s Lover/Patron Snatched Him Away From Patti Smith
A real New York story, with a supporting cast including Edmund White, Robert Indiana, Candy Darling, and half the residents of the Chelsea Hotel.
A Nazi War Criminal And His Prosecutor, And Their Shared Love For Bach
“Each man heard in the great masterwork – in the same sublime solos and chorales – an entirely different, indeed contradictory, message; two opposed promulgations in the same score, two contrary cries in the same edifice of beauty.”
How The Civil War Transformed America’s Great Forests
“The historian Megan Kate Nelson estimates that two million trees were killed during the war. The Union and Confederate armies annually consumed 400,000 acres of forest for firewood alone.”
The Atlanta Symphony Orchestra Returns To Applause, And Criticism
“Sorry to say, what the audience got in this work was not what the ASO sounds like under normal circumstances. But these were not normal circumstances. Although the collective bargaining agreement was successfully wrapped up in time for this concert, many of the ASO’s musicians are still committed to temporary engagements with orchestras elsewhere.”
Glen Larson, Battlestar Galactica Producer Who Just Died At 77, Could Make Practically Any TV Show A Success
“Many of the hit shows Glen Larson produced found little favor with critics, including ‘B.J. and the Bear’ (1979), about a trucker and his pet monkey. And despite his success, sometimes with multiple series running simultaneously, he never won an Emmy.”
Creating Cathedrals (To The Arts) With Frank Gehry
“You are not on LSD. All sail and no boat, it’s a vision, one that provoked a perfectly sober, gainfully employed psychologist seeing the building for the first time to respond: ‘I nearly wept in awe. Amazed by how soft, alive and enfolding it is.'”