Matthew Westphal – Page 2099 – ArtsJournal Wayback

Quentin Tarantino’s Suit Against Gawker For Leaking Script Thrown Out (For Now)

“Los Angeles District Court Judge John F. Walter ruled that the director’s lawyers had failed to demonstrate that anyone had actually seen the script as a result of the link. … But he is giving the team a second chance to prove their case, allowing them to refile with a bit more evidence by the end of this month.”

A History Of Office-Speak

Emma Green drills down into the origin of corporate lingo, runs it up the flagpole, provides added value, and brings increased mindshare to the bottom line. (Don’t worry: the article itself is not stupefying. And don’t forget to take the office-speak quiz!)

Trying To Bring James Baldwin Back Into American Classrooms

“In a year that marks the 90th anniversary of his birth, educators offer different reasons for Baldwin’s faded presence there, from the concern that he is too controversial and complex to the perception that he has been eclipsed by other African-American voices.”

Is Hope Always Such A Wonderful Thing?

“Is [hope] not rather a form of moral cowardice that allows us to escape from reality and prolong human suffering?” Simon Critchley’s answer to that question (via Prometheus, St. Paul, Thucydides, Nietzsche, and Barack Obama) isn’t really as bleak as that question might lead you to expect.

Well, Here’s One Good Thing Coming Out Of Russia’s Annexation Of Crimea: Antiquities Looting Is Being Addressed

“Russia’s annexation of Crimea, a region rich in archaeological sites that are routinely targeted by looters, has thrust illegal excavations around the shore of the Black Sea onto the political agenda. Mikhail Piotrovsky, the director of the State Hermitage Museum in St Petersburg, which has run archaeological digs in Crimea for decades, addressed the topic in a presentation to the Russian parliament in March, shortly after the peninsula voted to join Russia.”

This Will Be Britain’s Most Viewed Piece Of Public Art

“Artist Richard Wilson jammed a cardboard plane into a plastic hamster ball and bowled it along the floor, saying to engineers: ‘This is what I want! The result? An enormous 77-tonne aluminium artwork” called Slipstream that will be a centrepiece of Heathrow Airport’s new Terminal 2.

The ‘Fun Home’ Trip To South Carolina: A Report

“McNerney said the performances were not meant to be an insult or a challenge to lawmakers. They were meant to expose students to accomplished artists. ‘I hope they won’t punish us for presenting a piece of artistic work.’ And, he added, ‘not a cent of state money was used to support this’.”

How Disney Movies Serve The Gay Agenda (The Real One)

“Through both its corporate practices and the content of its films, Disney for decades has implemented the so-called ‘gay agenda’ – which is to say, helping make the world a more accepting place.”

Why Do Some People Hate Céline Dion So Much?

“‘The most wholly repellent woman ever to sing songs of love,’ spewed Cintra Wilson, ‘I think most people would rather be processed through the digestive tract of an anaconda than be Céline Dion for a day.’ Bitch, excuse me? We’re not talking about Bernie Madoff or the Abu Ghraib torture team.” Novelist Mary Gaitskill has a go at figuring it out.

Author: Matthew Westphal