Author: Douglas McLennan

Conspiracy Theories Helped Us Survive. Lately, They’re More Problematic

“Particularly in the past few years, conspiracy theories have been omnipresent on the internet and in social media. These modern forms of communication allow conspiracy theories to spread faster than ever, and make it easy for like-minded people to connect and form online echo chambers. As a result, the flat-Earth movement – endorsing the conspiracy theory that the Earth is actually flat and that scientists have been lying to the public for more than 500 years – is now an organised society with regular conferences.” – Aeon

Is Cellphone Prison The Solution For Stopping Ringing During The Show?

“As you reached your row, you were told to turn off your phone or put it on silent and insert it to a glove-like pouch. You keep your phone but you cannot turn it back on without unlocking the pouch, which uses a simple mechanism not unlike the security tags you find in clothing stores and that have to be removed by cashiers. At the end of the show, ushers show up and quickly unlock the devices.” – Chicago Tribune

Why We Need To Rethink The Nonprofit Model

The nonprofit sector started out as a vehicle for voluntary civic engagement. Nonprofit organizations are organized to advance the public, rather than private, good. But as the sector grew and professionalized, the focus quickly shifted from the people, or civil society, to the organizations themselves as the key constituents of the sector. So, when we talk about infrastructure for the sector, is the infrastructure there to support civic engagement, or nonprofit and philanthropic organizations? This tension has been there from the beginning. – NonProfit Quarterly

Charming: When 12-Year-Old Timmy Page Was A Movie-Maker (Back In The 60s)

Like a pint-sized Cecil B. DeMille, we see Page in his family’s suburban Connecticut neighborhood as he wrangles his actors, gauges camera angles and shouts, “Action!” In cut-away interviews, the young Page expounds on French new wave directors and silent film stars with the intellect of the Pulitzer-Prize winning critic he’d become. – Los Angeles Times

Figurative Art Is Hot Right Now. Is It Any Good?

Barry Schwabsky: “To my eye, the dependence on the academic method (now perhaps even unconscious, in any case not definitively marked) remains just as inhibiting a factor for contemporary painting as it was when artists like Matisse and Picasso, de Kooning and Dubuffet were finding far different ways of expressing their feelings toward the figure than classicism ever could have envisioned.” – The Nation

Longtime Boston Children’s Theatre Director Accused Of Misconduct By 17 Former Students; He Resigns

An anonymous e-mail, titled “The Threat of Burgess Clark,” described what it said were the experiences of 17 former students who made a range of allegations against Clark, including three who said they were kissed or inappropriately touched by him during private lessons or at his second home in Walden, Vt. The alleged conduct occurred when most of the students were 14 to 18 years old. The e-mail was signed, “The concerned students and parents of Boston Children’s Theatre.” – Boston Globe

How Theatre Helped Bring Down The Berlin Wall 30 Years Ago Today

What is intriguing is that the collapse of East Germany was, in many ways, a piece of theatre. The Alexanderplatz demonstration, one of the largest in GDR history, had been planned by actors and directors from leading East German theatres. They invited playwrights and actors to address the crowds, alongside dissidents and politicians. They even had a baddie: the former deputy head of the Stasi secret police spoke – and was booed. – The Guardian

Dallas Symphony And Opera Make A Major Push For Women Conductors

“I won’t say women are discriminated against as much as not given the same pathways as men. mostly because there is a male dominance in terms of personnel in the business. It’s been generations of music schools having faculty members who were renowned male soloists or conductors. The system was created that way, so it takes a lot of time to get women in those roles and as mentors to other talented women.” – Dallas Morning News

Prince Charles’ Charity Unwittingly Showcased Fake Monet, Dali And Picasso Works

The fakes made their way to Prince Charles’ charity HQ in a manner befitting any art forgery, from a group of Agatha Christie characters. The work was part of a 10 year loan from 37 year-old ex-billionaire James Stunt, the former husband of Formula One heiress Petra Ecclestone. A stint in a Royal domicile could potentially increase the auction price of any artwork. – Vanity Fair