“There is evidence of counting that stretches back five millennia in Egypt, Mesopotamia and Persia. Yet even by the most generous definition, a mathematical conception of nothing – a zero – has existed for less than half that time. Even then, the civilisations that discovered it missed its point entirely. In Europe, indifference, myopia and fear stunted its development for centuries. What is it about zero?”
Author: Matthew Westphal
Modern Dance Company In Philadelphia Shuts Down
“After 12 years of creating dance, commissioning work from world-class choreographers, and opening a theater and studio in a converted mechanic’s shop, former Martha Graham principal dancer Jeanne Ruddy announced Monday that she was folding her Philadelphia modern dance company.”
The Soweto Boy Who Became A Budding Ballet Star
For Andile Ndlovu, a 23-year-old member of Washington Ballet, “to be accepted into the rarefied world of classical dance – which in South Africa is traditionally seen as an elitist and a predominantly white preserve – the boy from the rough Soweto townships says he had to overcome outdated stereotypes” on both sides of the country’s racial divide.
Are The Arts Irrelevant To The Next Generation? (In Norway, Maybe So)
“A study just published in the journal Poetics suggests art forms such as literature and classical music ‘are becoming increasingly more irrelevant for most students’ cultural lives.’ This points to ‘an increasingly precarious position for traditional highbrow culture’.”
The Grapes Of Wrath, Still Relevant After Seven Decades
Melvyn Bragg writes that John Steinbeck’s novel “seems as savage as ever … It is just as alive, with its fine anger against the banks: ‘The bank – the monster – has to have profit all the time. It can’t wait … It’ll die when the monster stops growing. It can’t stay in one place’.”
Defendant In Corot Art Fraud Case Gets Six-Year Prison Sentence
“Thomas Doyle, the Manhattan man who pleaded guilty in July to one count of wire fraud in connection with his deceitful purchase of the painting in 2010 … was sentenced on Monday to six years in prison – twice the sentence stipulated by guidelines relating to his plea bargain.”
If You Pick Us, Do We Not Bleed? Considering Plants’ Perception
“Plants respond to environmental factors. We’ve known this for a very long time. They will turn toward or away from the sun; they will sway with a passing breeze. But more and more, science has been telling us that the awareness goes much deeper, that plants have a kind of sentience. Does that mean they have consciousness? If they have consciousness, can they suffer?”
It Had To Happen (Or Did It?): Rocky, The Musical
“Two Ukranian boxing brothers have teamed up with Sylvester Stallone to stage a musical version of Rocky in Hamburg, Germany.”
The Loneliest American Library In The World? Baghdad
“In a nook of the library at Baghdad University, sturdy histories of the American Revolution and the Vietnam War line up next to Alexis de Tocqueville and John Updike. Paperbacks from Tom Clancy and Michael Connelly, even Judy Blume, dangle guilty pleasures. … Yet, the readers never come.”
Georgian Hospitality? The One Bolshoi Ballet Member To Be Mean To David Hallberg
Notoriously outspoken principal dancer Nikolai Tsiskaridze: “I like David very much and respect him as a dancer, but it is an insult to the entire Russian ballet, a demonstration of indifference to the rich Russian tradition and culture.”