“Theaters across the country may offer various accommodations, including captioning devices and sign interpretation. But the Kennedy Center is one of the few to add another layer to its live sign-language interpretations by hiring theater-savvy directors who are deaf — that’s the crucial part — to oversee them.” Sarah Kaufman visits a rehearsal to see the artistry and ingenuity at work, especially in tackling the tricky problem of repeated song lyrics. – The Washington Post
Author: Matthew Westphal
A Large, Newly-Excavated Section Of Pompeii Is Revealing Its Treasures And Recasting History
“The Regio V dig has already yielded skeletons, coins, a wooden bed, a stable harboring the remains of a thoroughbred horse (bronze-plated wooden horns on the saddle; iron harness with small bronze studs), gorgeously preserved frescoes, murals and mosaics of mythological figures, and other dazzling examples of ancient Roman artistry. That’s a surprisingly rich cache for what is arguably the most famous archaeological site in the world. But until now Pompeii has never been subjected to fully scientific excavation techniques.” – Smithsonian Magazine
‘Queer Eye’ Is Trying To Make Shopping, Redecorating, And Consuming Luxury Goods Into Spiritual Self-Improvement
Amanda Hess: “As its gurus lead the men (and occasionally, women) in dabbing on eye cream, selecting West Elm furniture, preparing squid-ink risotto and acquiring gym memberships, they are building the metaphorical framework for an internal transformation. Their salves penetrate the skin barrier to soothe loneliness, anxiety, depression, grief, low self-esteem, absentee parenting and hoarding tendencies. The makeover is styled as an almost spiritual conversion. It’s the meaning of life as divined through upgraded consumer choices.” – The New York Times
How’s The Six-Year-Old Who Got Thrown Off The Tate Modern Viewing Deck? Awful, But Stable
The parents of the boy, who had brought him from France to London on holiday, say that the full extent of his injuries is still uncertain, but that he suffered broken bones in the back, arms, and legs as well as a brain bleed. “Our son has already undergone two long and difficult operations … But he is alive, struggling with all his strength, and we remain hopeful.” – The Guardian
Ballet Theatre Of Indiana Is Partner In Real Estate Deal That Will Include New Performance Venue
“The ballet company and a redevelopment company are joining forces to unveil a major arts-driven development for a well-established Carmel intersection. It includes a four-story mixed-use building with apartments and retail on one end and a new arts center on the other.” – The Indianapolis Star
Relationships Checkup
As with most really good ideas, it’s not terribly complicated. It’s simply a ‘note to self’ to check in on all past engagement relationships on a regular (at least annual) basis. This simple habit has the ability to accomplish a wide variety of good things. – Doug Borwick
Twitter Is Helping Keep The Scots Language Hilariously Alive
First, we’re not talking about Scots Gaelic, the Celtic language closely related to Irish. Scots is the language of Robert Burns and Irvine Welsh and a few million souls in the Scottish lowlands, closely related to and (sometimes) mutually intelligible with English though it evolved independently. And Twitter has become a rare outlet for written Scots, however informal, to develop naturally. – Quartz
Robert De Niro’s Company Sues Former Exec For $6 Million
Until April (when she left amid worries about “corporate sabotage”), Chase Robinson was “vice president of production and finance’ at De Niro’s Canal Productions, drawing a $300,000 salary. Canal’s suit accuses Robinson of embezzling cash, using corporate credit cards for lavish spending on hotels and meals, taking personal trips using De Niro’s frequent flyer miles — and, on top of it all, rarely coming to work and spending what time she was in the office binge-watching Netflix. – Variety
The Cultural Appropriation Wars Come To Bang On A Can
The controversy at the Bang on a Can Summer Festival (aka Banglewood) in Massachusetts broke out over the use of didgeridoos in the 1990 work Thousand Year Dreaming by 80-year-old New Zealand-American composer Annea Lockwood. Several of the festival’s young Fellows raised concerns about Lockwood’s deployment of the indigenous Australian instrument, including, in this performance, its being played by women (traditionally taboo). But those concerns were not shared by everyone there. – New Sounds (WNYC)
Meritocracy Is Making Us All — Even The Rich — Miserable
“Meritocracy has created a competition that, even when everyone plays by the rules, only the rich can win. But what, exactly, have the rich won? Even meritocracy’s beneficiaries now suffer on account of its demands. It ensnares the rich just as surely as it excludes the rest, as those who manage to claw their way to the top must work with crushing intensity, ruthlessly exploiting their expensive education in order to extract a return.” – The Atlantic