The Estonian Song and Dance Celebration attracted 35,000 singers, more than 1,000 choirs and 700 dance groups to the capital of Tallinn. The event, held every five years, started as a song-only celebration in 1869. – Washington Post (AP)
Author: Douglas McLennan
Why Concrete Truths Have Lost Their Foundations
Why has assent on even basic factual claims (beyond logically demonstrable ones, like 2 + 2 = 4) become so hard to achieve? Or, to put it slightly differently, why are we—meaning people of varied political persuasions—having so much trouble lately arriving at any broadly shared sense of the world beyond ourselves, and, even more, any consensus on which institutions, methods, or people to trust to get us there? And why, ultimately, do so many of us seem simply to have given up on the possibility of finding some truths in common? – Hedgehog Review
Untangling Conflicting Currents Of How To Think About #MeToo
It can feel as though the public discussion around #MeToo has been designed as a training program for denial, with self-reflection rarely encouraged on any side of the issue. The appearance of perfection—which is to say, hiding and disavowal—seems to be your main aim. – The New Republic
Maryland Governor Says He Won’t Release Funding For Baltimore Symphony
“With regards to the BSO, they are way out of touch with where they need to be fiscally. The governor had no alternative. He is going to come in and trim and make sure the important stuff gets funded.” – Baltimore Sun
This Summer’s Surprise Theatre Hit: The Mueller Report
This month alone, there will be live readings of the report from theatre companies in Los Angeles and Washington, D.C., starring actors like Alfred Molina and Harry Groener. – American Theatre
MoviePass Is Struggling To Reinvent. But Competing Services Are Taking Advantage
The subscription went from having more than 3 million members to around 225,000 in April 2019, according to Variety, which was first to report the service had been suspended. It’s unclear if an app revamp can actually help the company stay afloat. – CNBC
We Evolved To Be Successful. So Which Traits Will Dominate Going Forward?
Will our pre-wiring—together with toxic cultural forces, such as racism—lead to fiercer, meaner, better-armed tribal conflict? Or will the part of us that expands love from mates to friends to shipmates come to dominate? – Reason
How Reality Got Jumbled Up With “Reality”
It is impossible to prove a counterfactual, but without reality TV, it seems unlikely that so many people would equate “being real” and “telling it like it is” with spilling ugly secrets, flaunting rank egotism, attacking personal morality and social norms, and exuding contempt for the opinions and sensibilities of others. This cultural turn is dismaying enough, but as this kind of behavior comes to define what is honest, authentic, and true, it becomes more difficult for free and democratic societies to push back against the looming threat of a full-fledged surveillance state, a digital Panopticon. – Hedgehog Review [paywall]
Does Landmarking Buildings Help Or Hurt A Neighborhood?
It’s a growing question. Locking important buildings up often helps to save the architecture. But it can also kill the uses inside the building, gentrify neighborhoods, and can fail to actually keep buildings viable. Here’s how the debate is breaking down. – Pacific Standard
Frank Lloyd Wright Buildings Added To UNESCO’s World Heritage List
Inscribed as “The 20th-Century Architecture of Frank Lloyd Wright,” the addition encompasses eight of Wright’s more recognizable designs, spanning the various American landscapes that served as his inspiration. – The New York Times