“The more psychologists investigate musicality, the more it seems that nearly all of us are musical experts, in quite a startling sense. The difference between a virtuoso performer and an ordinary music fan is much smaller than the gulf between that fan and someone with no musical knowledge at all. … We aren’t talking about instinctive, inborn universals here. Our musical knowledge is learned.”
Author: Matthew Westphal
The Last Time I Smiled: On Living With Facial Paralysis
Jonathan Kalb: “For the past thirteen years, my smile has been an incoherent tug-of-war between a grin on one side and a frown on the other: an expression of joy spliced to an expression of horror. … If a stranger approaches me smiling and I try to return the greeting, I watch the person’s face fade into apprehension and wariness.”
Suis-Je Charlie? Philip Gourevitch On The Pen Vs. The Gun
“We like to say – we who work with pens (or pixels) – that the pen (or pixel) is mightier than the sword. Then someone brings a sword (or Kalashnikov) to test the claim, and we’re not so sure. … The truth is – for better and for worse – that, no, most of us, even in the most free of Western societies, are not Charlie.”
Why Charlie Hebdo Matters
Andrew O’Hehir: “Charlie Hebdo is not just some random publication that made fun of Muhammad. It’s something closer to a canary in the coal mine of democracy. It’s a dissident, thorn-in-the-side paper that was once closed down by its own government, in the putative homeland of liberty and equality. It’s a paper that has doggedly sought out the outer edge of acceptable expression, a paper devoted to offending anyone and everyone and to scourging those who hold power over others.”
Gospel Legend Andraé Crouch Dead At 72
“A dyslexic who in childhood had a bad stutter, Crouch was known for pioneering a gospel sound with a contemporary feel – sometimes to the dismay of critics who felt his work was too secular. But he and his group the Disciples received multiple Grammys for their efforts. In 2004, Crouch became only the third gospel artist to be awarded a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.”
Julianne Moore Says She’s Not A Brave Actress (Her Directors Disagree)
David Cronenberg, on one ickily Cronenbergian moment in his Maps to the Stars: “That scene definitely freaked out several actresses. With Julie it wasn’t even a discussion.”
Half Of UK Stage Directors Earn Less Than £5,000 Per Year
“A survey by the industry group Stage Directors UK found the average salary for directors in subsidised theatres was £10,759, far below the average national wage of £26,500. Some were being paid the equivalent of less than £1 an hour.”
Theatre Artists Are The Ones Really Subsidizing Theatre, And That Should End
Lyn Gardner: “Because although this is about money, it’s not just about money, it’s about the relationships between artists and venues and producers, and a proper and equal relationship between them that is not just a transaction but something that benefits and enriches all.”
Disabled Dancers And The Art Form, 20 Years After Arlene Croce’s “Victim Art” Essay
David Jays: “Two decades on, Croce appears stranded on the wrong side of history. Artists bringing personal histories to the table are now mainstream. You see ‘victim art’ in reality TV and verbatim theatre; in the work of oversharing visual artists like Tracey Emin and Ryan Trecartin; and, increasingly, you see it in dance, where an immaculate body and blank-slate persona are no longer the invariable starting point.”
Val Caniparoli On 42 Years Of Dancing With San Francisco Ballet
“Q; Have dancers changed over these 42 years in the way they learn and the way they dance? A: The work ethic is different. They’re required to do so much now, in such a short time. We don’t have the luxury of work weeks. … I find them burning out a little more often than it should be happening. But I leave, and I come back, and I’m amazed how good this company is from top to bottom.”