Author: Douglas McLennan

The Man Who Studies Ignorance Explains How It Flourishes

“Robert Proctor explains that ignorance can often be propagated under the guise of balanced debate. For example, the common idea that there will always be two opposing views does not always result in a rational conclusion. This was behind how tobacco firms used science to make their products look harmless, and is used today by climate change deniers to argue against the scientific evidence.”

Is High Quality Prestige TV Preparing A New Generation To Love Stage Plays?

“Where there’s truth to the idea of a television ‘golden age’ (ask me over a cup of coffee or a whiskey ginger someday), it’s in the fact that cable and streaming outlets have allowed shows to flourish when they appeal to more deeply invested but smaller audiences. This is what I have called in the past The Age Of Enthusiasm. It has also encouraged the proliferation of shows that are more idiosyncratic, personal, and experimental than television was before. Now, drama and comedy enthusiasts have daily exposure to stuff that’s weird and complicated and formally experimental. They are a good, prepared audience for interesting plays in a way that I, as a teenager in the late 1980s, was not.”

Okay, Cue The Viola Jokes – But These Instruments Are Ergonomically Superior

“The instrument sports a number of unusual features, like a banked fingerboard that fights strain by reducing supination in a player’s left arm. But what truly draws the eye—and drops the jaw—is the viola’s off-kilter layout: It has been stretched on the diagonal to some 20 inches to maximize the vibrating surface area. Because it has also been shortened from top to bottom, it feels like a ¾-size viola to the player’s left hand.”

Claim: London’s Planned Garden Bridge Across The Thames Is A “Post-Truth” Project

The garden bridge, proposed to cross the Thames from the South Bank to Temple, is nothing if not a landmark of the post-truth era. It has wrung tens of millions out of the public purse on the basis of deceptions, distortions and facts that proved to be fake. First sold as “a gift to the people of London”, entirely paid for by private sector donations, it is now due to cost a minimum of £60m in public money. Its estimated total cost has gone from £60m to “north of £200 million”. Its claims to fundraising prowess are exaggerated, its promised transport benefits minimal.

Audiences For Podcasts Are Growing Quickly

“Many podcast trends continue to rise, from the percentage of the 12+ population that has heard the term podcasting (60 percent, up from 55 percent last year) to the percentage that has listened to a podcast (40 percent, up from 36 percent last year) to the percentage that has listened in the last month (24 percent, up from 21 percent last year) or last week (15 percent, up from 13 percent). And the term “listened to” isn’t a loose one. And overwhelming majority of listeners get through either all of a podcast (42 percent) or most of it (44 percent).”

In Poland Artists Went On Strike To Protest (Did It Do Any Good?)

“There was a huge amount of publicity. It was a symbolic act. We could explain to journalists that the situation for artists is really poor, that we’ve not done well, that we are outside the system.” The mission of those striking was to raise awareness that “most cultural producers are poor,” and “remain outside the system of pension and health insurance.”

Jerry Saltz – The Critic As (Failed) Artist (Or Not)

“I miss art terribly. I’ve never really talked about my work to anyone. In my writing, I’ve occasionally mentioned bygone times of once being an artist, usually laughingly. Whenever I think of that time, I feel stabs of regret. But once I quit, I quit; I never made art again and never even looked at the work I had made. Until last month, when my editors suggested that I write about my life as a young artist.”

Montreal Gets A Glitzy New Home For Dance

“Les Grands Ballets Canadiens will take over its new digs next month, after 37 years in a converted garage building that had no elevators, insufficient washrooms and studios where ballerinas had to take care not to bump their heads on the ceiling during lifts. The ballet will join two contemporary-dance companies – Agora de la danse and Tangente – as well as École de danse contemporaine de Montréal. All the companies are getting better and more versatile spaces than they had before. They’re also being challenged to think about how to relate to each other, and to their new environment in the Quartier des Spectacles.”

Indian Tribe Develops Traditional Dance Workouts As A Health Prescription

There are some real health challenges in this community, says Terry O’Toole, senior health advisor with the division of nutrition, physical activity and obesity at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The CDC has given the Coeur D’Alene tribe $2 million to develop “Powwow Sweat.” It also supports a community garden on the reservation and a project that stocks the gas station market with healthy food options.