Quixotism – “adopting the moral courage necessary to fight for lost causes without caring what the world thinks” – can “save people from the paralysis that often accompanies defeatism.” Mariana Alessandri argues that “today, when much of society and politics – both in and outside the United States – looks like a lost cause to a great number of people, we might do well to consider Quixote’s brand of lunacy.”
Author: Matthew Westphal
Thoreau Wasn’t A Righteous, Grumpy Old Recluse – He Was A Sensualist, An Activist, A Social Creature, And A Kitten Rescuer
Holland Cotter, who loved Thoreau in his youth and then fell away, visits an exhibit at the Morgan Library and discovers that the writer was attuned to and thrilled by sound and touch and taste, a devoted family man (though unmarried himself) whom children loved, and such a committed abolitionist that his family house was a stop on the Underground Railroad.
Why The Bank Of England Made Its Staff Study Dr. Seuss
“[Professionals at] the central bank analysed the children’s author after finding that just one in five people could read and understand its inflation report.” Said a former deputy governor there, “Dr. Seuss was a master at using simple language, at getting children to read.”
If The Met Can Charge Out-Of-Towners Mandatory Admission, Then London’s Museums Can Do It, Too
“Everywhere else in Europe does it. We know it makes sense. Charging is valuing. It is hardly a mortal sin.” Simon Jenkins makes the case.
Emmett Till, The Hanging Of Native Americans, And Who Gets To Make Art About Them
“Central to both cases” – Dana Schutz’s Open Casket, over which there was a noisy controversy at the Whiney Biennial, and Sam Durant’s Scaffold, now being removed from the Walker Art Center’s sculpture garden – “are issues of cultural appropriation and artistic freedom. Should white artists, no matter how well intentioned, represent harrowing stories that are not their own to tell? Conversely, should any subject matter be off-limits to artists because of their race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation or other life experiences?”
Why Eliminating The NEA Would Hurt Rural Americans Most
“In reality, the NEA has an outsized impact in rural communities and less densely populated states, where funding from private foundations and wealthy philanthropists is harder to obtain.” What’s more, “the NEA’s outsized impact on rural areas and less densely populated regions is reinforced by the way it distributes the funding it provides directly to states.”
David Hallberg Lands Spokesmodel Contract With Nike
“The $32 billion sports brand has asked him to model for its latest campaign for NikeLab’s all-conditions gear in both still and video ads.”
L.A. Dance Project’s Memorial Day Weekend Livestreams Reached More Than 500,000 People
The most popular segment of the series, transmitted from the company’s residency at the Chinati Foundation in Marfa, Texas, drew 211,300 views by itself. “What’s interesting is that this livestream wasn’t what we’re typically used to: It was more of a live dance film happening in real time than an intimate peek in on rehearsal.”
Conductor Jiří Bělohlávek Dead At 71
“Although Bělohlávek,” who served as chief conductor of the Czech Philharmonic (twice) and of the BBC Symphony Orchestra, “started out as a student of the cello, he became the greatest conductor of the Czech repertoire after Václav Talich and Václav Neumann.”
Florence Declares War On Tourists Eating Sandwiches
“Eat a sandwich on the steps of our cathedral and we’ll turn a hose on you. That’s the warning from Florence this week, where Mayor Dario Nardella is sick of visitors picnicking on the steps the Cathedral of Santa Maria Dei Fiore.”