His latest mural, which popped up in the Welsh steel town of Port Talbot, shows a child catching snowflakes on his tongue — except that the flakes are actually ashes from a dumpster fire behind his back. Merry Christmas! — The Guardian
Blog
How Bach’s ‘Brandenburg’ Concertos Upend The Social Order
Bach scholar Michael Marissen observes that, throughout the set, the composer has solo instruments do things that, in the accepted order of things at the time, those instruments simply didn’t do. (Marrissen couches the argument in Christian terms — “the lowly shall be exalted while the exalted shall be brought low” — which is almost always a safe approach with J.S. Bach.) — The New York Times
Pioneering African-American Ballerina Raven Wilkinson Dead At 83
“She began studying at the Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo in 1955 when she was just 20 years old … [but] eventually left the prestigious dance theater after six years, during many of which she was subject to continued racial discrimination.” She went on to work at the Dutch National Ballet and later New York City Opera. — Essence
Tania Bruguera, Just Out Of Prison, Files Defamation Lawsuit Against Cuban Government
“Tired of suffering defamations in state media publications such as Granma newspaper … as well as official websites from the Ministry of Culture,” said the artist-activist in a statement, “I have decided to legally act against parties who have damaged myself and my family, psychologically, socially, and professionally.” — Artnet
The Problem With Trying To Be Morally Perfect
Can the moral saint, if perfect, ‘waste’ time watching films and television? How about spending any money on fine food or travel? Or expending energy on sport rather than seriously important causes? Or going birdwatching or hiking? No time either for theatre or the pleasures of curling up with a good book. The problem with extreme altruism, as Oscar Wilde is reported to have said about socialism, is that it takes up too many evenings. – Aeon
Why There Are So Many Of Those Cheesy Christmas Movies
This, when uttered in the context of a Hallmark holiday movie, is a beacon to the Christmas spirits, who know one thing, and pretty much one thing only: No one should simply muddle through the holidays. Whether you celebrate Christmas or not — however you find meaning in the time of year that these movies shorthand as “the season” — the ideal, these films insist, is unmitigated joy. — The Atlantic
The Most-Popular Poem Of 2018
More than 250,000 people in 2018 clicked on the poem, which features such lines as “It is only kindness that makes sense anymore, only kindness that ties your shoes.” – Washington Post (AP)
English National Opera Makes Its Saturday Shows Free For Under-18s
“Removing cost as a barrier to entry for under-18s is a seismic leap forward for ENO and for opera as a whole, and we hope to entice as many under-18s as possible, from the musically obsessed to the just plain curious.” – The Stage
The Phenomenally Successful School That Exposed A Major Flaw In Higher Ed
Even taking the alleged fakery into account, how did T. M. Landry school seem to fool so many of America’s most prestigious universities for years? The work of admissions officers is notoriously secretive, but what little is known about the Landry affair threatens foundational assumptions about American higher education. – The Atlantic
Women-Only Music Festival In Sweden Found Guilty Of Gender Discrimination
A new ruling said that although festival organisers did not enforce the “man-free” rule, since “no differentiation based on sex was made between visitors at entry”, the statements the company issued prior to the event “discouraged a certain group from attending the event”, breaching a law banning gender discrimination. – Irish Times