The Spirit of Alma Thomas
Talk about a life: Alma Thomas was born in Georgia in the 1890s, one of the most vicious decades of the Jim Crow South. She told a reporter in 1972 that when she was young, … read more
AJBlog: Real Clear Arts Published 2016-03-02
Weekend Listening Tip: Terell Stafford & The SRJO
Trumpeter Terell Stafford was the recent guest soloist with the Seattle Repertory Jazz Orchestra. Jazz Northwest’s Jim Wilke recorded them and will air one of the concerts on Sunday. … read more
AJBlog: RiffTides Published 2016-03-03
The Arts in the Small Community
2016 marks the 50th anniversary of the start of The Arts in the Small Community project led by Robert E. Gard, and we … read more
AJBlog: Engaging Matters Published 2016-03-01
[ssba_hide]
Author: Matthew Westphal
Nabil Maleh, ‘Father Of Syrian Cinema’, Dead At 79
“[His] 1972 film, The Leopard, based on a novel by the Syrian author Haydar Haydar, was the first feature film released by the state-run National Film Organization and won first prize at the Locarno Film Festival that year. It tells the story of a lone rebel who defends his village against corrupt local authorities.”
‘The World’s First Feature-Length Painted Animation’: A Van Gogh Biopic Told With His Own Paintings And Letters
“Loving Vincent … brings together the skills of over 100 painters trained specifically to mimic van Gogh’s own technique and brushstrokes, with each frame composed of actual, hand-painted artworks.”
This Year’s Foreign-Language Oscar Winner Is, In Effect, Philosophy On Film
“Art is often the subject of philosophy. But every now and then, a work of art – something other than a lecture or words on a page – can function as philosophy. Son of Saul, a film set in Auschwitz-Birkenau during the Holocaust, is such a work of art. It engages with a profound set of problems that also occupied the 19th-century Danish philosopher Søren Kierkegaard.”
In Defense Of Small Talk: It’s Not A Hollow Waste Of Time, It’s An Important Social Lubricant
“Small talk is not wasted talk. … [It] allows strangers to make crucial first connections across demographic lines. And it’s far from meaningless. People are rebelling against it today in a misguided dismissal of social graces that seem old-fashioned, boring, or wasteful. In fact, we’ve never needed such graces more.”
Did Pre-Money Barter Economies Ever Actually Exist? Was Adam Smith Wrong?
“Imagine life before money. Say, you made bread but you needed meat. But what if the town butcher didn’t want your bread? You’d have to find someone who did, trading until you eventually got some meat. You can see how this gets incredibly complicated and inefficient, which is why humans invented money: to make it easier to exchange goods. Right? This historical world of barter sounds quite inconvenient. It also may be completely made up.”
Claude Parent, 93, Architect Of The Oblique
“Parent’s theory was called Oblique Architecture, and championed a move from horizontal and vertical architecture into spaces defined by slopes and ramps. His primary concern was unbalanced spaces.”
A New Series Of Islamic-Themed Children’s Books
“An executive editor of Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers … is heading a new children’s imprint, Salaam Reads, dedicated to publishing books that feature Muslim characters and stories. The imprint … will release nine or more books a year, ranging from board books and picture books to middle grade and young adult titles.”
The DC-Lobbyists-Talk-Books-With-A-Congressman Book Club
“The private event, which is run by the chairman of the Financial Services Committee, is a little-known fundraising vehicle where lobbyists for Wall Street banks, insurance companies and accounting firms gather monthly to discuss literature with a Republican panel member.” You don’t have to have read the book, and yes, of course they’ve done Atlas Shrugged.
Actor George Kennedy, 91
“In a career spanning more than 175 films and television credits, Mr. Kennedy was among the most dependable and versatile performers in Hollywood. Whether malevolent, earnest or serving as comic relief, he held his corner of the screen opposite charismatic movie stars including Cary Grant, Paul Newman, John Wayne and James Stewart.”