“What has fur, four legs and a leather collar? If you guessed a dog, you probably haven’t yet seen David Ives’s dark sex comedy Venus in Fur. But you should have plenty of chances, as the play is set to be the most-performed play in American theaters in the 2013-14 season, with 22 productions across the country.”
Author: Matthew Westphal
Imprisoned Pussy Riot Member Declares Hunger Strike
“A jailed member of Russia’s Pussy Riot punk band said she was starting a hunger strike on Monday to protest against ‘slave labor’ in her penal colony and said she had received a death threat from a senior prison official.”
Pussy Rioter Nadezhda Tolokonnikova: Why I’m On Hunger Strike
“I will not remain silent, resigned to watch as my fellow prisoners collapse under the strain of slavery-like conditions. I demand that the colony administration respect human rights; I demand that the Mordovia camp function in accordance with the law. I demand that we be treated like human beings, not slaves.”
NPR Moves A Flagship Program (Or Part Of It) West
The weekend broadcasts of All Things Considered will now be based at the NPR West facility in greater Los Angeles. “NPR officials have billed it as a rare chance for a legacy radio program, previously based in Washington with the rest of the public radio organization, to rethink what it is and does – and let listeners decide if the changes sound good.”
Can Khartoum Reclaim Its Reputation As An Arabic Literature Capital?
“These are hard times for bookstores everywhere, of course. … But there is more at work here, in a city long famous as a big market for Arabic writers. Books and reading are embedded profoundly in Khartoum’s self-image and the country’s history, and there is growing worry that the collapse of book culture is a direct mirror of the country’s overall decline.”
Golden Hoard Found At Foot Of Jerusalem’s Temple Mount
“Hebrew University archaeologist Dr. Eilat Mazar disclosed the contents of the discovery Monday morning: Two bundles containing thirty-six gold coins, gold and silver jewelry, and a gold medallion, ten centimeter in diameter, adorned with images of a menorah (Temple candelabrum) a shofar (ram’s horn) and a Torah scroll.”
Paying Attention Is A Skill, And Schools Should Teach It
“It has to be trained, and it has to be practiced. If we cater to short attention spans by offering materials that can be managed with short attention spans, the skill will not develop. … It is as if you complain to a personal trainer about your weak biceps and the trainer tells you not to lift heavy things.”
Synesthesia Is Now A Marketing Tool
“Hotel chains have signature scents; Starbucks has soundtracks to complement the flavor of its coffee. In the past most marketing passed through the aural and visual channels, and the other senses were neglected. Now the idea is that, with so much competition for consumers’ attention, no sense should be left unturned.”
“Air Twyla” – Pacific Northwest Ballet Shows Off Its Work With A Prize Resident Choreographer
“The Pacific Northwest Ballet goes out of its way to make every season opener festive, but when the company opens its 40th season this year, it will be celebrating something very special: the culmination of a residency by choreographer Twyla Tharp – one of the most important choreographers working today.”
This Week’s Ballet For Inanimate Objects Comes To You From Australia
“Performed by Perth’s Buzz Dance Theatre, Trolleys” – as in shopping carts – “is a street-theatre show combining dance, acrobatics and puppetry in a way that may inspire those who see it to try out the ambitious four-wheeled antics on their next shopping trip.”