“There is a huge space between an insult and a threat, and it isn’t actually that hard to tell one from the other. … Mocking your prophet is not at all like threatening your person. Blasphemy is ridicule directed at an ideology; hate speech encourages violence directed at individuals. … Blasphemy is just the fanatic’s name for criticism.”
Author: Matthew Westphal
Master Narrative: Fundamentally, All Stories Are The Same
Willa Cather said, “There are only two or three human stories, and they go on repeating themselves as fiercely as if they had never happened before.” But veteran TV producer John Yorke, who’s worked at both popular BBC (EastEnders) and brainy Channel Four, argues that even those two or three narratives boil down to one structure – one that lies deep in the human psyche.
A Good Story Is The Strongest Tool Of Deception
“We can frame experience in two ways: propositional and narrative. Propositional thought hinges on logic and formality. Narrative thought is the reverse. It’s concrete, imagistic, personally convincing, and emotional. And it’s strong.” Maria Konnikova looks at the case of a prolific and persistent young grifter, and how she used narrative to disarm her targets and ward off suspicion.
The New Studio Head Who’s Trying To Remake The Entire Hollywood System
“With Simonds’s checkbook, Fogelson was going to demonstrate that you could build a studio without theme parks and television networks to help you market your films, and without anything like the two or three thousand people most studios employ. … He was going to save the industry. And he didn’t expect much thanks.”
Long-Lost Violin Concerto Turns Up Deep In Bowels Of Toronto Library
“James Mason, who works at the University of Toronto’s Faculty of Music Library, discovered Norwegian composer Johan Halvorsen’s composition while digitizing the library’s thousands of pieces of sheet music.”
A Mother Of Reinvention: Britain’s Oldest Dance Company At 90
“Rambert, which turns 90 this year, has discovered many of Britain’s leading choreographers, taken a long journey from the notoriously tiny Mercury Theatre to shiny new premises on London’s South Bank, and transformed itself from a ballet troupe into the UK’s flagship contemporary company.”
Venice, Broke And Crumbling, Considers Selling Off Some Art
“By any measure, this aquatic city is uniquely expensive to run. And that has pushed [the mayor] to launch controversial proposals – including the sale of some of the masterpieces in Venice’s public museums, such as works by Gustav Klimt and Marc Chagall – to help plug a €60 million ($65 million) hole.”
Critic Once Argued For More Booing; Now He Takes It All Back
Martin Kettle: “I have got what I wished for – only now I don’t like it. … The threshold is so low that the boos rarely mean anything. Except, of course, to the person being booed. Performers and players have always lived with fear of failure and the audience. But why make these things worse so cavalierly?”
NYS Attorney General Challenges Plan To Revive NY City Opera
“The filing … does not offer a formal opinion on whether the NYCO Renaissance plan is workable. But it raises serious questions about whether the reorganization relies on overly rosy projections of high donations and low expenses, and argues that the group should offer more evidence that its plan would be sustainable beyond its first few years.”
Alan Gordon, 70, Longtime (And Combative) Leader Of Singers’ And Dancers’ Union
“As the executive director of the American Guild of Musical Artists, Mr. Gordon represented chorus members, soloists, dancers, choreographers and production personnel at major companies across the country, from the Metropolitan Opera and New York City Ballet to the San Francisco Opera and San Francisco Ballet. Since many cultural institutions have been trying to curb their spending, he often used unorthodox tactics to fight for the interests of his members.”