Joyce Johnson: “After Jack’s death in 1969, I kept up with the stream of biographies that began to appear, seldom finding in them the man I’d known myself. Jack’s life provides a writer with almost too much tempting sensational material. It is easy to fall into the trap of trying to put it all in, which will often result in a book without a central thread – in other words, lots of stuff but no story.”
Author: Matthew Westphal
Met Opera’s Only Female Stagehand Sues Company For Harassment
“A former Met stage carpenter is suing the Metropolitan Opera for sexual harassment, claiming that her male colleagues constantly abused her with unwanted come-ons and crude, dangerous pranks. Teri Orsburn, 53, worked for almost three years at the Met.”
Canadian Ambassador Writes New Ending To Hollywood Movie About Iran Hostages
“After [Argo] was screened at the Toronto International Film Festival, friends and supporters of former ambassador Ken Taylor expressed dismay that [the movie] had minimized the Canadian role. In response, director Ben Affleck picked up the phone to speak to Taylor and asked how to make things right. As a result there’s a new postscript to the film, drafted by Taylor himself.”
Can We Still Be Shocked By Art? How? The Critics Debate
“Over the next week, four New York Times critics – Roberta Smith, Ben Brantley, A. O. Scott and Alastair Macaulay – will chat about the role of shock in art: how it works, how it has changed and why it’s still necessary. Jennifer Schuessler moderates.”
When Grown-Ups Have Separation Anxiety (This, Too, Is A Brain Issue)
“When we are scanning for signs of danger in a relationship – such as abandonment – our brain often can’t distinguish between a real or imagined risk … The way we learn to respond to the threat of abandonment as young children actually changes the wiring of our brains.”
A Walk Through The Louvre’s New Islamic Art Wing
“Now the museum is again risking the public’s wrath as it introduces the most radical architectural intervention since [I.M. Pei’s] pyramid in 1989. Designed to house new galleries for Islamic art, it consists of ground- and lower-ground-level interior spaces topped by a golden, undulating roof that seems to float within the neo-Classical Visconti Courtyard in the middle of the Louvre’s south wing.”
London’s Menier Chocolate Factory Gives Dynamic Ticket Pricing A Try
The theatre “has introduced a pricing system offering tickets that are cheaper the earlier they are bought. Under what the Southwark venue is calling its ‘dynamic pricing structure’, the theatre is also offering higher priced ‘premier seats’ located in the centre of the auditorium.”
Salman Rushdie Writes Thank You To Indie Booksellers
“I have never ceased to be grateful for what the independent booksellers of America did in 1989 and, now that I have finally been able to tell the full story of that battle, I’m glad to be able to honor your courage and give you all your due.”
Anna Netrebko Has Had Enough Of Ingenue Roles
“The thing is, my voice changed a lot – enormously. … I look different, and I’m different in my mind. Well, I’m 41 years old – time to grow up. The last two or three years, I was trying to figure out where I’m going. I tried to postpone heavier repertoire. But now I’m saying goodbye to -inas and I’m very happy about that.”
The Strange Hollywood Career Of Walter Mitty
“It’s a mystery how Thurber’s 1939 story of an ordinary man’s daydreams … should have attracted the notice of so many producers of large and noisy entertainments. … The really surprising thing is that these big-budget adaptations so far have been successful with audiences, despite the massive liberties taken with the original story. This practice has been enraging Mitty fans since the 1940s.”