“The connection between Shakespeare and nuclear waste might seem tenuous, but Michael J. Sandel, the political philosopher, did his utmost to unite the two at the Delacorte Theater in Central Park on Monday night, assisted by readings given by the likes of Alan Alda, Vanessa Redgrave, Christine Baranski and Matt Damon.”
Author: Matthew Westphal
Can Experimental Art Rescue Flint, Michigan?
“As cities go, hollowed-out Flint might have the worst reputation in America. But the Flint Public Art Project wants to change that.”
How Caffeine Can Short-Circuit Creativity (Uh-Oh)
“We do know that much of what we associate with creativity – whether writing a sonnet or a mathematical proof – has to do with the ability to link ideas, entities, and concepts in novel ways. This ability depends in part on the very thing that caffeine seeks to prevent: a wandering, unfocussed mind.”
But Dim Lighting Can Spark Creativity (Say Two Researchers)
“‘Darkness increases freedom from constraints, which in turn promotes creativity,’ report Anna Steidle of the University of Stuttgart and Lioba Werth of the University of Hohenheim. A dimly lit environment, they explain … ‘elicits a feeling of freedom, self-determination, and reduced inhibition,’ all of which encourage innovative thinking.”
A Participatory Dance Performance You Don’t Have To Be Afraid Of
“In Yanira Castro’s new The People to Come, five dancers each create two 19-minute solos based on material – sketches, photos, patterns, tasks – submitted by audience members. And it all happens right before the viewers’ eyes, over the course of four hours.”
They’d Watch Paint Dry: Norwegians Just Love Their Incredibly Boring Television
“Norway’s love affair with slow-moving shows dates back at least to 2009, when an NRK employee suggested putting a camera on top of a train as it made the seven-hour trip from the capital Oslo to the west coast town of Bergen. It was an immediate success.”
Police Begin Investigation Into Embezzlement During Bolshoi Renovation
“Russia’s Interior Ministry has launched a criminal probe on allegations that some 90 million rubles ($3 million) was embezzled during the six-year reconstruction of the Bolshoi Theater that ended in 2011.”
Greek Court Reverses Shutdown Of National Broadcaster
“A Greek court has ordered that state broadcaster ERT, which was shut down by the government last week, can resume transmissions. However, the court also upheld a plan by Prime Minister Antonis Samaras to replace ERT with a smaller broadcaster.”
Teetering Nashville Symphony Opens Contract Talks With Musicians
“Officials of the union representing the musicians at the Nashville Symphony Association said negotiations over a new contract are set to begin this week even as the symphony’s Schermerhorn Symphony Center is facing a June 28 foreclosure auction.”
Ruins Of Ancient Cambodian City Discovered By Aerial Lasers
“The discoveries matched years of archaeological ground research to reveal Mahendraparvata, a lost mediaeval city where people lived on a mist-shrouded mountain called Phnom Kulen, 350 years before the building of the famous Angkor Wat temple complex in north-western Cambodia.”