“According to a 2014 Gallup poll, 70 percent of Americans think that the crime rate is increasing, up from 63 percent in 2013. But the reality is that America is getting safer. The national crime rate is about half of what it was at the peak in 1991. … Nnow that crime rates are so low, people have ‘very little direct experience of crime,’ so their perceptions are mainly shaped by news media and entertainment.”
Author: Matthew Westphal
Too Cute: The Rise And Fall, Or At Least Leveling, Of Kawaii In Japan
Neil Steinberg looks at how the concept of kawaii arose in Japanese culture, why it works, how it became so prevalent that Japanese cities have officially promoted cute mascots, and what happens when some parts of the culture have had enough of the likes of Hello Kitty.
Pokémon Go Goes Global, And Governments Combat The Pikachu Peril
“In Saudi Arabia, clerics renewed an existing fatwa against Pokémon, calling it ‘un-Islamic.’ Bosnia has warned players to avoid chasing the creatures onto land mines left over from the 1990s. … Russian websites published articles claiming the game is a C.I.A. plot, while religious figures denounced it. ‘It smacks of Satanism,’ a Cossack leader told local media.”
A Reel CIA Plot: Hollywood Has Been An Agency ‘Asset’ For Decades
“Ever since its inception in 1947, the CIA has been covertly working with Hollywood. But it wasn’t until the mid-1990s that the agency formally hired an entertainment industry liaison and began openly courting favorable treatment in films and television. … Especially after 9/11, American screenwriters, directors, and producers have traded positive portrayal of the spy profession in film or television projects for special access and favors at CIA headquarters.”
Much-Recorded Organist André Isoir Dies On His 81st Birthday
With shelves full of awards, a discography of more than 60 titles, and more than 40 years as titular organist of the famous Saint-Germain des Près church in Paris, he was one of France’s most admired organists, known especially for his improvisation and his Bach. (in French; Google Translate version here)
Lead Troll Who Harassed Female ‘Ghostbusters’ Star Permanently Banned From Twitter
“Milo Yiannopoulos, the technology editor for Breitbart.com, tweeted as @Nero. … [He’s] been suspended from Twitter several times in the past for violating its terms of service … but claims that he had fanned the flames of the harassment of Ghostbusters actor Leslie Jones on Twitter led to a ‘permanent suspension’ from Twitter on Wednesday.”
Iran Drops ‘Disturbing The Public Peace’ Charge Against Sculptor
“The leading Iranian artist Parviz Tanavoli, who was detained by officials earlier this month at Tehran’s Imam Khomeini International Airport, has been allowed to leave the country. … Tanavoli told us: ‘I am accused by the police. The accusations are that my art is based on ‘spreading the falsehood’ and ‘creating public anxiety’.'”
San Francisco Symphony Cuts Back On Community Outreach Projects
“The SFS Board of Directors is said to have voted to discontinue the Community of Music Makers (CoMM) at least temporarily, and make a deep cut in the Instrument Training and Support (IT&S) program for middle and high schools in San Francisco.”
A Singers’ Rebellion At Georgia’s National Opera House
“[Alleging] absence of repertoire, corruption, nepotism and threats of unfair dismissal, world-famous Georgian opera singers such as Mzia Nioradze, Tamar Iveri, Nana Kavtarashvili, Anita Rachvelishvili, and Lado Ataneli, with members of the Tbilisi opera choir, are up in arms at the current situation in [the company] and have named their artistic director Davit Kintsurashvili ‘unprofessional’ for having only staged three operas in the two years of his leadership at [the Georgian National Opera and Ballet Theater].”
Is It Time To Establish Quotas For Female Choreographers?
A debate and forum in London earlier this month came to close to recommending just that: one of the action points was “Implement strategic equality quotas with Boards, funders, Associate Artists and artistic programmes.” The conclusion was that “‘strategic quotas’ could be beneficial if, and only if, they created a trickledown effect. But how effective can quotas be?” And would it help or hurt if government funders required them?