Rivka Galchen: “For me, the unforgivable sin in literature is the same as that in life: the assumption of certainty and the moral high ground.”
Benjamin Moser: “The Nazis proved that perverted words can, in fact, lead to the destruction of society. … To use words to serve the cause of human unfreedom is grotesque, like a physician serving torturers.”
Author: Matthew Westphal
How The Naming And Classification Of Clouds Transformed Landscape Painting
“The clouds in many 19th-century European paintings look drastically different than those in the 18th century. There are layers to their texture, with whisps of cirrus clouds flying over billowing cumulus, and stratus hovering low. Clouds weren’t classified by type until 1802, and their subsequent study influenced artists from John Constable to J. M. W. Turner.”
A Roundtable With The Stars Of ‘Hamilton’
Vulture joined five of the cast for dinner at Sardi’s as “they discussed how the show changes every night, the quiet importance of director Thomas Kail, how they landed on their takes on these American icons, and when they think they will be ready to leave their parts.”
How An American Magazine Editor Accidentally Became A Leading Russian Screenwriter
Michael Idov, former editor of the Russian version of GQ: “I don’t have a good answer for how I got here. Not only have I blindly managed to write Russia’s most popular feature film and one of its most-talked-about TV series of the year, but I managed to do it in 2015, when relations between the United States and Russia were at their coldest point since [the 1960s].”
When Virtual Reality Literally Saves A Life
“Last month, a surgical team used Google Cardboard – cardboard VR goggles that work with smartphones and sell online for around $5 – to save the life of a baby born with half a heart and only one lung.”
Life At One of England’s Last Tolstoyan Communes
“These days, the Brotherhood Church of Stapleton … has just four residents, plus a friendly deaf cat, some chickens, and a large, lumbering cow.”
The Science Behind Brendan Dassey’s Agonizing Confession In ‘Making A Murderer’
It’s disturbingly easy to get someone to confess to something they didn’t do. (Especially if that someone has an IQ of 65.)
Supermarket Exec Pleads Guilty To Embezzling Funds To Support Lover’s Dance Company
Paul Kelly, the former vice president of corporate affairs at Asda, diverted £180,000 from the chain’s charitable foundation – money intended for flood victims – to dancer David Murley’s troupe.
Years Of Abuse Alleged At Boys’ Choir Led By Pope Benedict’s Brother
“The allegations were reported by an attorney, Ulrich Weber, who had been hired by the Diocese of Regensburg last year to investigate claims of abuse at the Regensburger Domspatzen choir and two feeder schools between 1953 and 1992. … Benedict’s brother, Monsignor Georg Ratzinger, conducted the historic choir from 1964 to 1994.”
Lost Van Dyck Canvas Found In Istanbul; Two Arrested For Smuggling
“Undercover police officers confiscated the canvas from a pair of textile businessmen attempting to sell the work for 14 million lira ($4.6 million). … While Turkish authorities have not officially identified the painting, art experts from the Museum of Painting and Sculpture in Istanbul are confident that the canvas is a long-lost van Dyck masterpiece.”