The Said al-Mishal Centre brought theatre, dance and music to the beleaguered residents of Gaza City. Its destruction in an Israeli air strike has sparked outrage – and dealt a heavy blow to Palestinian culture
Author: Douglas McLennan
Students Are Dropping The Humanities In Droves
“Five years ago, I argued that the humanities were still near long-term norms in their number of majors. But since then, I’ve been watching the numbers from the Department of Education, and every year, things look worse. Almost every humanities field has seen a rapid drop in majors: History is down about 45 percent from its 2007 peak, while the number of English majors has fallen by nearly half since the late 1990s.”
Wanna A Piece Of A Warhol?
The art fund that will allow people—you, me, most everyone we know—to invest as little as $20 to purchase a share of an artwork. Masterworks acquires artworks that its leadership team believes to be undervalued—its first two offerings are an oil and silkscreen Colored Marilyn by Andy Warhol (bought for $1.8 million) and an oil Coup de Vent by Claude Monet (bought for $6.3 million)—for which investors may purchase a fraction.
Dance Canceled After Complaints Of Cultural Appropriation
The Kaleidoscope dance included segments from French, Scottish and other cultures as a tribute to Canada’s history. Serhij Koroliuk said at the time that the dance was created to honour Indigenous people. But it faced backlash on social media after a video was posted online by an Indigenous powwow dancer who was watching from the crowd.
Maybe Consuming Less “News” Would Be Better For Us?
Perhaps it’s time we realize that consuming more news about the world around us is not the way to improve it (or ourselves), personally or politically. Two thousand years ago, Marcus Aurelius wrote in his Meditations, “Are you distracted by breaking news? Then take some leisure time to learn something good, and stop bouncing around.”
How Much Did Kevin Spacey’s New Movie Earn On Its Opening Day? $126! (Really)
The ensemble crime-drama Billionaire Boys Club quietly opened Friday in eight theaters scattered in select states across the U.S. The indie film earned an abysmal $126 for the day and another $162 on Saturday for a two-day total of just $287 following its release on premium VOD last month, according to those with access to theater grosses.
Aretha Franklin Didn’t Leave A Will
In documents filed with the Oakland County probate court, Ms. Franklin’s sons — Clarence, Edward and KeCalf Franklin, and Ted White Jr. — listed themselves as “interested parties.” One document, signed by KeCalf Franklin, checked a box indicating that “the decedent died intestate,” or without a will.
Museum Visitor Falls Into An Art Work That Is A Hole (Even With Signs Warning It’s A Hole)
A spokesman for the museum says that the “visitor is OK [and] almost ready to return home”. He added that “security protocol was followed” and there are warning signs as well as a member of gallery staff inside the installation. It has been temporarily closed while the institution assesses what happened but it hopes to reopen it “in a few days”.
Too Much Edinburgh Fringe?
For more than a decade I’ve heard people say the fringe can’t get any bigger and one day it will go pop. So far, I haven’t heard any big bangs, but maybe the air is beginning to slowly escape from the balloon.
Leonard Bernstein At 100
He was born 100 years ago on Aug. 25, and his centenary is being celebrated as his achievement — and the smilingly confident place and time he symbolized — seems ever more unrepeatable. Who today could write both “West Side Story” and three thorny, searching symphonies? Who could bring together Brahms and the Beatles on national television, and have millions watch? To what maestro’s left-wing political dalliances would New York magazine devote a cover story in 2018?