“There was Tito the lifeguard, who rarely if ever saw the need to wear a shirt. Lawrence Fishburne played Cowboy Curtis, Pee-Wee’s best friend, who confessed to sleeping in the nude and having ‘big feet.'” (Pee-Wee’s response: “You know what they say: Big feet — [pause] — big shoes!”) “And there was the time Pee-Wee married a fruit salad, about which very little needs to be said.”
Author: Matthew Westphal
How ‘Bookchat’ Came To Devour Literary Discourse
“There are listicles of books or about books: there was even one recently about ‘The Top Ten Squirrels in Literature.’ There are interviews and aspirational how-tos. There are publicity statements, which are circulated and regurgitated into light critical opinion – as much as any book review. There is the relatively new phenomenon of the author self-testimonial: upon publication of his novel, the author will write a piece about writing the novel.”
Another Brueghel Gets The Virtual Reality Treatment
“The project, which brings to life the Flemish master’s 1562 The Fall of the Rebel Angels, is viewable on YouTube but is best experienced on headsets such as a Google Cardboard mask.”
Twitter At 10 – How Should We Take Stock?
Robinson Meyer: “After all, there’s been no shortage of chances over the last decade to note How Twitter Has Changed Things. Infinite comparisons can be drawn between Twitter and any other social network. … It also doesn’t seem worth dwelling on Twitter’s shortcomings. (For that, I can wait for earnings day.) Instead, it’s worth seeing Twitter not just as a 10-year-old social network, but as a product of its time.”
Can Philosophy Work As Therapy? Or Is It Strictly A Search For Truth?
Nigel Warburton: “I’m skeptical about this, as in my view philosophy is primarily the attempt to understand, and as such is an activity of enquiry.”
Jules Evans: “Personally, I’m not arguing that all philosophy is therapy, but rather that ancient Greeks and Romans viewed philosophy that way, as did many Indian philosophers.”
Should An Indigenous Group Really Be The Sole Arbiter Of Its Cultural Artifacts?
“We need to ask who speaks for the relevant indigenous community, and on what basis. Even who qualifies as indigenous is a vexed question, as is the fact that ‘the indigenous’ rarely speak with one voice. Ethnocentric policies therefore tend to vest authority in anointed chiefs and elders (local equivalents of the privileged white male) … What about those who disagree? And what about those who want to change it, or challenge it from within?”
The Largest – And Possibly Cheapest – Chamber Music Series In The U.S.
“The society has become the largest presenter of chamber music in the country, now giving 60 concerts of major artists each season. It insists on prices from $18 to $24, … though the same concert in New York a few days later goes for three times that.”
Cliburn Winner’s Estranged Wife Charged With Murdering Their Daughters
“Authorities believe Sofya Tsygankova, 31, killed her daughters and stabbed herself before her husband” – 2013 Van Cliburn International Piano Competition winner Vadym Kholodenko – “was scheduled to pick up his children for a regular visit.”
It Had To Happen: Botched ‘Beast Jesus’ Painting In Spain Gets Its Own Arts Center
“The center [in Borja] will celebrate Beast Jesus’ journey from little-known artwork to viral meme, featuring stories, photographs, and videos related to the restoration and its impact. Canvases will be available for visitors inspired to paint their own Christ-like creatures, and of course, new Beast Jesus merch is hitting the market.”
‘Be Ready For Blood’: Diana Damrau On Covent Garden’s Upcoming ‘Lucia’
“I think audiences are going to leave feeling quite shaken. They will see what people in desperate circumstances are able to do and that is actually the basis of this drama. Everybody is desperate and it gets very dark and very sad and horrible. So, I am sorry, be ready for blood.”