“In the morning, CBC announced it had fired him under unexplained circumstances. Then Ghomeshi announced he was planning to sue. Then he unleashed a bizarre and rambling confession on Facebook, in which he laid bare what he characterized as ‘strange’ sexual habits that included ‘rough sex’ and ‘forms’ of bondage and role-playing. And then, late [that] night, the bomb dropped in a Toronto Star investigation that said three unnamed women had accused him of ‘attacking’ them without consent.” And that was just Sunday …
Author: Matthew Westphal
Three Women Accuse Fired CBC Star Jian Ghomeshi Of Sexual Violence
“The three women interviewed by the Star allege that Ghomeshi physically attacked them on dates without consent. They allege he struck them with a closed fist or open hand; bit them; choked them until they almost passed out; covered their nose and mouth so that they had difficulty breathing; and that they were verbally abused during and after sex.”
Atlanta Symphony Lockout: Musicians Partly Give In To Management Demands For Smaller Orchestra
The players’ union has made a counteroffer accepting a count of 77 salaried musicians – a number management wants to make permanent – for this season, with the orchestra’s ranks increasing by roughly four musicians each of the following three seasons.
JS Bach’s Wife Wrote Some Of His Most Famous Works, Claims Scholar
An Australian musicologist and a forensic document examiner are arguing that Anna Magdalena Bach was not merely one of her husband’s copyists (that fact is well-established), but that – based on the characteristics of the handwriting in the manuscripts – she was composing some of the pieces on the spot.
The Mom Who Was-Or-Wasn’t Ejected From A Concert By MTT Speaks
“He actually said, ‘You’re disturbing me. Can you move to the side?’ But we weren’t doing anything. … My child was not fidgeting. No iPad. No phone out. … My child was about to burst into uncontrollable crying, [so] I had no choice but to leave.” (In the comments, someone claiming to be an eyewitness gives a different account of the event.)
Could These Ballet Shoes Notate A Dancer’s Steps?
Barcelona designer Lesia Trubat says that, “after observing the motions of their bodies as they glide and pirouette, she realized that through contact with the ground, a lilypad arduino microcontroller board could record the pressure and actions of their feet and send the signal to an electronic device,” with which users could render the movementd graphically.
It Worked! Joyce DiDonato Will Sing At World Series
Whether or not it was due to the social media campaign, the superstar mezzo and the Kansas City Symphony have been chosen to sing the National Anthem at the start of game six of baseball’s World Series on Tuesday. (If there’s a game seven, they’ll do it then, too.)
Seville Symphony Players Make (Quiet) Onstage Protest Over Conductor
The musicians of the Royal Symphony Orchestra of Seville wore green ribbons to signal their unhappiness with an ongoing stalemate in the selection of their chief conductor. The city’s politicians voted to renew the contract of Pedro Halffter, who has held the post for ten years (and whom the musicians are said to oppose), but his re-engagement was vetoed by the regional government of Andalusia. (in Spanish)
Adam Gopnik Contemplates Mutant Pastry
“Let us look, then, at these case studies of how stale bread becomes fresh and familiar sweets take mutant forms, and ask why people line up at an ungodly hour to eat sweets that taste odd and look new. Is the pretzel croissant the forerunner of the Cronut or merely its parallel creature? Is the Cronut a craze that, like the designer cupcake, is doomed to walk the avenues briefly and then die in shame and embarrassment, or is it a true contribution – as the croissant and the doughnut and the pretzel all were in their day – and likely to become part of the common cupboard?”
We Are All Confident Idiots
“In many cases, incompetence does not leave people disoriented, perplexed, or cautious. Instead, the incompetent are often blessed with an inappropriate confidence, buoyed by something that feels to them like knowledge.” (And every one of us is incompetent at something.)