Author: Matthew Westphal

Harold Pinter’s Widow Finds Unknown Play – And Prints It In The Guardian

Antonia Fraser: “I did something I’ve never done before. I scribbled some notes on a page from one of Harold’s yellow legal pads because I was waiting for a taxi to go to Mass, and too lazy to go upstairs. … When I had written the note, I stripped off the yellow page. Then I nearly fainted. Beneath lay Harold’s unforgettable handwriting – although rather frail – and a title: ‘The Pres and the Officer’. Six pages followed, his handwriting getting noticeably stronger.” (includes complete script)

An Opera Built On Sounds Too Low For Us To Hear

“For most of the work’s duration, twenty-four subwoofers, placed with their cones pointed upward, emit electronic tones that vibrate at a frequency of 10.67 hertz, or around ten oscillations per second. … Human ears can’t detect sounds much below twenty hertz, but you register their presence all the same. … The body is listening even when the ears tune out.” Alex Ross checks out Ashley Fure’s “opera for objects,” The Force of Things.

They’re Finally Breaking Ground On DC’s Contentious Eisenhower Memorial

“After 17 years of soap opera-like drama – including villains, family squabbles and money problems – the Dwight D. Eisenhower Memorial has reached its happily-ever-after stage. … Ushering any construction project through Washington’s bureaucracy is never quick or easy, but the Eisenhower Memorial journey suffered multiple setbacks, most focused on architect Frank Gehry’s modern design, unveiled in 2010.”

‘Today’s Gossip Is Tomorrow’s News’ – Amid The Sexual Harassment Firestorm, A We-Told-You-So By The Founder Of Gawker

Nick Denton: “The headlines are shocking – unless you read Gawker before it was shut down … Those first accounts of sexual harassment – even if anonymous or thinly sourced – give confidence to victims that they are not alone. Gossip, though it draws those motivated by envy and resentment, is also a tool of the powerless.”

NPR’s Chief Of News Put On Leave Following Sexual Harassment Accusations

“NPR has placed its senior vice president for news, Michael Oreskes, on leave after fielding accusations that he sexually harassed two women seeking career opportunities nearly two decades ago, when he worked at The New York Times. … Meanwhile, a current NPR employee is going public with her account of filing a formal complaint with the network’s human resources division in October 2015.”