“On a hilltop overlooking the sprawling Complexo de Alemão favela, girls fill an old basketball court in Rio de Janeiro. Wearing pink leotards, pink tights and pink shoes, they stand with their hands on their hips as they learn proper passé technique. The girls practice ballet on a basketball court because in their favela, considered one of the most dangerous in the city, there is no other place for them to go.”
Author: Matthew Westphal
Bosch Was A Realist
“There has never been a painter quite like Jheronimus van Aken, the Flemish master who signed his works as Jheronimus Bosch. His imagination ranged from a place beyond the spheres of Heaven to the uttermost depths of Hell, but for many of his earliest admirers the most striking aspect of his art was what they described as its ‘truth to nature.'”
Riches To Rags: Secrets Of A Costume Distressor
“The nicest thing you can say to Hochi Asiatico is that his work looks like hell. That’s because Mr. Asiatico is one of a small number of Broadway distressors, artisans who make costumes look beautifully bad. … Here, in four relatively easy steps, is Mr. Asiatico’s guide to D.I.Y. distressing.”
‘The Good Old Days’ Isn’t Just A Harmless Illusion
“Nostalgia’s dark side … is badly underestimated, and wreaks havoc not only in politics but also medicine and anthropology. Far from being harmless, [it] is a virulent falsehood that infects those whose intellectual defences have been weakened by fear and insecurity. It is easily weaponised by power-hungry propagandists who seek to replace nuanced discourse with patriotic platitudes.”
The Fourth Remake Of ‘A Star Is Born’ Is Coming. Bad Idea
“The movie has been made three times (in 1937, 1954, and 1976), each time to diminishing critical returns, with barely any variation in story, and yet with every new Hollywood generation someone looks to try again. On Tuesday, the fourth version was announced: Lady Gaga will play the ingénue and Bradley Cooper her love interest, with the latter also writing and directing, and presumably trying to find a new angle to justify the remake.” David Sims looks at why the story is unlikely to play well in 2017.
Ellipsis – The Long, Strange History Of A Strange Punctuation Mark
“The punctuation mark of the ellipsis is perhaps the most unusual mark in the English language, for punctuation marks are designed to convey meaning by indicating relationships between ideas, but the ellipsis does the exact opposite.” What’s more, those three little dots date back centuries before Shakespeare.
Zurich’s Tonhalle Orchestra Says Lionel Bringuier Won’t Be Staying On As Chief Conductor
The young French conductor, who turns 30 next month and who assisted both Esa-Pekka Salonen and Gustavo Dudamel at the Los Angeles Philharmonic, succeeded David Zinman in Zurich in 2014. The decision not to renew Bringuier’s contract, which expires in 2018, was widely expected in the city. (in German; Google Translate version here)
Huge 1,700-Year-Old Mosaic Found In Good Condition In Cyprus
“The 36-foot-long, 13-feet-wide work cements scenes from one public stadium in colorful stone, featuring four chariots each pulled by springing horses of various hues and commandeered by assertive drivers.”
Norton Simon Museum Can Keep Cranachs Looted By Nazis, Rules Judge
“A judge in US District Court in California has dismissed a claim by an heir to the Dutch dealer and collector Jacques Goudstikker to recover Lucas Cranach’s Adam and Eve (around 1530), two paintings now at the Norton Simon Museum. The 15 August ruling in the decade-long case holds that the paintings became the property of the Dutch government after the Second World War.”
Barnes And Noble’s Board Fires CEO
“In a terse statement that lacked any attempt at corporate spin, the company said that ‘the board of directors determined that Mr. Boire is not a good fit for the organization and that it was in the best interest of all parties for him to leave the company.’ … [He] is the third chief executive to leave the troubled company in just three years.”