“After the final curtain on Wednesday, still drenched in sweat, feet red and raw, [Alban] Lendorf sat down in his dressing room to talk about his first night as a full member of the company. Below are edited excerpts from that conversation.”
Author: Matthew Westphal
Aroma Artist Wins $100K Hugo Boss Prize
“Known for her collaborations with biologists and pungent Petri dish works, [Anicka] Yi exhibits smell as sculpture. ‘It isn’t unusual to smell a work by Yi before seeing it stewing in a corner or leaking down a wall,’ Beau Rutland wrote in the January 2013 issue of Artforum. ‘Scent becomes an interception, a piling-up of unexpected triggers, awakening sensations often ignored in aesthetic spaces.'”
As Tensions Between India And Pakistan Ratchet Up, Bollywood Becomes A Battleground
“Pakistan on Wednesday imposed a blanket ban on Indian shows on its television networks and radio stations, a day after one of India’s top film directors vowed not to hire actors from Pakistan in response to a major Indian cinema group’s declaration that it would not screen films with Pakistani casts. The tit-for-tat measures come amid deteriorating relations between the two countries after an attack in September on an Indian Army base by militants who India says were from Pakistan.”
How Can The State Dept. Get Russians To Like Americans Better? Broadway Musicals
“When Russians were asked [in a survey] what they liked about Americans, they answered, in essence, ‘Not much.’ But when asked what Americans do well, oddly, one of the top answers was ‘musicals.’ (Russians obviously missed Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark.) So America’s diplomats looked stageward for help and discovered Broadway Dreams, a decade-old nonprofit that runs week-long master-class programs throughout the United States and internationally.”
Top Posts From AJBlogs 10.20.16
The future of classical music
I’m often asked what I think the future of classical music will be. Here’s a summary of what I think. It’s been sitting quietly in the Resources section of my blog, but it’s time to give it some bigger play. … read more
AJBlog: Sandow Published 2016-10-20
Reshuffling the Deck: An Illustrated Companion to My WSJ Piece on National Gallery Reinstallations
Although my Wall Street Journal piece, “A Capital Overhaul at the National Gallery,” on the reinvented and revitalized permanent collection displays, was generously granted three images by my editors, I think readers often crave a chance to see the other works discussed. … read more
AJBlog: CultureGrrl Published 2016-10-20
Phil Chess Had A Jazz Role
The many obituaries of Chess Records co-founder Phil Chess correctly note his importance in the record company that that brought attention to blues artists who went on to became famous. Chess died yesterday at 95. … read more
AJBlog: RiffTides Published 2016-10-20
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On Moral Issues, Liberals Ponder And Conservatives Pounce
“Newly published research suggests … that conservatives decide ethical issues in an intuitive, automatic way [while] liberals are more likely to give such questions serious thought before arriving at an opinion. This difference between snap judgments and reason-based conclusions ‘may be a fundamental aspect of left-right political orientation’.”
Bad Ideas For How To Feel Good: Positive Psychology
“In 1998, the American Psychological Association appointed a new president, Dr. Martin Seligman of the University of Pennsylvania. Up until this point, Seligman was best known for his work in the 1960s administering electric shocks to captive dogs, but in his new role as president, he was now changing tack. Seligman used his inaugural speech to the association to declare the grand opening of a whole new branch of psychology, to be known as ‘positive psychology.'”
Why Do People In Old Movies Talk Funny?
As you probably noticed for the first time while watching TV late at night, actors in the Hollywood films of the ’30s and ’40s did not speak the way actors do now. That wasn’t because you were stoned; the elocution style really was different – for public figures in real life as well as in fiction films. (Think of FDR’s speeches.) Linguist John McWhorter explains why. (podcast)
Ancient Adidas: Hoard Of Roman Shoes Found In England
“Volunteers on the annual excavations at Vindolanda Roman fort in Northumberland have unearthed an astonishing 421 shoes from a ditch. And one of the shoes is strikingly similar to the Adidas Predator football boot.”
England’s Oldest Cookbook, Commissioned By Richard II In 1387
The Forme of Cury features nearly 200 recipes from a feast Richard and his uncle, John of Gaunt, held in September of that year. (includes 629-year-old dessert recipe)