For many years, voices around the world have been articulating the concerns that the pandemic is now highlighting with devastating effect: the fragility of modern civilisation, the importance of supportive relationships, the need to live more harmoniously with nature, and more besides. Given the current chaos, there is now perhaps greater receptivity to alternative ways of thinking and being – including embracing philosophies and practices from cultures other than our own. – The Conversation
Author: Douglas McLennan
The Atlantic Magazine In The Confounding Era Of Trump
The Atlantic is a magazine not precisely of the center but rather of a set of liberal civic ideals; more than any other publication, its purpose seems to be the continual renewal of educated Americans’ commitment to high-mindedness. The past four years have severely tested those ideals. – The New Republic
Bubble-Master: The Doctor Who Helps Make Dance Companies Safe
“Bubbling has gained traction in the dance world as companies and organizations try to find ways of bringing artists together to create work in a safe environment. That involves rules, medical protocols, tests and vigilance, and it requires a presiding authority to decide what those should be. Enter Dr. Wendy Ziecheck, a Manhattan internist, who trained with George Balanchine’s doctor and was the medical director for the Rockettes before taking this unlikely new career path.” – The New York Times
Charlotte Symphony Makes The Calculation: If We Don’t Perform, We Don’t Survive
“The band played while the Titanic sank — I don’t happen to believe that the Titanic is sinking at the moment. We’ll get through this but we must not get through this having entirely annihilated the arts world. There is no future of humanity if that happens.” – Charlotte Observer
For The First Time Since 1965: No Charlie Brown And The Great Pumpkin On TV This Year
ABC has been the main home of Great Pumpkin and all the major Peanuts specials for the past 20 years, having snatched them away from their original home on CBS in 2000. But Great Pumpkin is not currently on ABC’s advance programming specials through early November, and while a network rep indicated that could change, it would be odd for ABC not to schedule the specials by now, unless there were contractual issues. – New York Magazine
Why American Families Are Addicted On “The College Experience”
“That shocking stability is exposing a long-standing disconnect: Without the college experience, a college education alone seems insufficient. Quietly, higher education was always an excuse to justify the college lifestyle. But the pandemic has revealed that university life is far more embedded in the American idea than anyone thought. America is deeply committed to the dream of attending college. It’s far less interested in the education for which students supposedly attend.” – The Atlantic
Ethics And The Politics Of Deaccessioning
“Difficult times bring out the best in us, and sometimes, encourage the worst. The current manifestations around deaccessioning are beginning to be solved by the courts. Unfortunately, when ethics can no longer endure, we turn to the courts for resolution. The (museum) professionals are abrogating their authority to another group of professionals (lawyers).” – James Abruzzo
Knowledge Under Attack
Richard Ovenden’s thesis is that books can be destroyed literally, as they were by the Nazis, or symbolically, when their contents are either made unavailable or systematically robbed of their authority. As he states, in an era of fake news and “alternative facts”, it is hard not to conclude that “the truth itself is under attack”. – The Critic
Why The Modern Office Looks Like It Does
In 1560, Cosimo I de’ Medici, who later became the grand duke of Tuscany, wanted a building in which both the administrative and judiciary offices of Florence could be under one roof. So he commissioned the building of the Uffizi, which in Italian means “offices.” – The Conversation
August Book Sales Down 30 Percent
Sales fell to $754 million compared to $1.09 billion in August 2019. The steep August drop put an end to a brief rally during which the rate of decline in bookstore sales had been slowing. – Publishers Weekly