“When the Egyptian comedian Bassem Youssef came back on the air late last month, everyone wondered whether he would have the courage to mock the army and its leader, Gen. Abdul-Fattah el-Sisi, as he once did the Islamists and former President Mohamed Morsi – and whether he’d get away with it.”
Author: Matthew Westphal
How New York Actors Cope With Shakespeare
“Laura Collins-Hughes spoke with actors from this Shakespeare-rich season about the requirements, roadblocks and rewards – physical and mental – that come with doing his plays. These are excerpts from those conversations.”
BuzzFeed’s New Books Editor Says He Won’t Publish Bad Reviews
Declares Isaac Fitzgerald, “Why waste breath talking smack about something? You see it in so many old media-type places, the scathing takedown rip. … [The online books community] understand that about books, that it is something that people have worked incredibly hard on, and they respect that. The overwhelming online books community is a positive place.”
Louisville Ballet Artistic Director To Retire In July
“The Louisville Ballet has announced that artistic director Bruce Simpson, 64, will retire at the end of this season. Yesterday, Simpson informed the dancers, board of directors and staff that he will complete his tenure in July, when his current contract expires.”
21 Italian Cities Compete To Be European Capital Of Culture
“The glut is not surprising in a country where the notion of campanilismo – denoting a proud attachment to one’s hometown – runs deep.” But it’s not just about hometown pride: “Studies and estimates suggest that there is a return of 5 euros to 10 euros for every euro invested in a European Capital of Culture.”
Why We Prefer Smaller Rewards Today Over Larger Rewards Tomorrow
“You do it every time you bust your diet by scarfing a donut, puff ‘just one last cigarette’ before quitting, or watch a dancing-penguin video instead of getting to work. You are performing the self-deluding mental bookkeeping known as temporal discounting.”
Reading The Prayer Journal Of The Young Flannery O’Connor
“The addressee here is God, but already O’Connor is rehearsing her role as speaker, anticipating how she will address a mortal audience. Learning to avoid cliché and speak authentically is a predicament of both prayer and literature, and solving the problem in her prayer life allowed O’Connor to solve the same problem in her fiction.”
What’s In Part Two Of Mark Twain’s Incredibly Long Autobiography?
“Things like hoaxes, jokes, yarns, obscenities, and non sequiturs.” Wit. Digression. (Lots of it.) Bare-knuckled criticism. (This is why he wanted no publication until 100 years after his death.) And a sort of “ironic narcissism … [that] makes his autobiography feel especially current.”
Dia Art Foundation’s Founders Withdraw Lawsuit
“Two founders of the Dia Art Foundation who have been vehemently opposed to the organization’s decision to raise money by selling several notable pieces from its collection have decided to withdraw a lawsuit filed last week to block the sale.”
Bolshoi Acid Attack Trial: Accused Demanded Roles From Filin, Says Witness
Bolshoi Ballet director Sergei Filin’s assistant testified that the accused mastermind of the attack, dancer Pavel Dmitrichenko, demanded principal roles for himself and for his girlfriend and argued with Filin over docking the pay of dancers who skip morning class.