“‘Wooden-headedness’ in statecraft, which she defined as ‘assessing a situation in terms of preconceived fixed notions while ignoring or rejecting any contrary signs,’ has clearly become a prevailing factor in our politics. As Tuchman wrote, wooden-headedness was best captured in a remark about Philip II of Spain: ‘No experience of the failure of his policy could shake his belief in its essential excellence.'” Historian Jon Meacham argues why “there is a lesson here not only for the president but for the people.”
Blog
Corruption, Basically: John Kander And Ann Reinking Talk About Why ‘Chicago’ Never Feels Dated
Kander: “Because corruption in society never seems to go out of style. Every once in a while, it becomes more obvious than not.”
Reinking: “Every step is basically a word. Especially with musical theatre, because you’re not doing it for dance’s sake, you’re promoting a story – and, more than that, a moral.”
Why Dirty Words Carry So Much Effin’ Power On Stage
And they do – more, oddly, than on screen, let alone in real life. Peter Libbey looks at the reason profanity packs the punch it does (and when it doesn’t) – from The Mother****** with the Hat to Jerry Springer – The Opera, where even God curses.
How Much Of Art Conservators’ Work Should Be Visible?
The question arose (again) with the $450 million sale of da Vinci’s Salvator Mundi after former Met Museum director Thomas Campbell posted an image of the painting pre-conservation on Instagram. Ben Luke looks at the issues – and at four Old Master paintings said to have suffered conservation “indignities” in the past.
Reddit Has Harbored Some Of The Very Worst Of The Web – Here’s What It’s Doing To Clean Out The Filth
Andrew Marantz meets the co-founder/CEO of the fourth-most-visited website in the United States, looks at just what it took for the company to move past free-speech absolutism, and how the staff finds the bad stuff and decides whether or not to get rid of it. (He also watches the heartening results of a Reddit social experiment.)
The Issues Dance Companies *Really* Need To Fix, Per The Readers Of Dance Magazine
Jennifer Stahl: “The bottom line: Readers agree it’s time to hold directors accountable, particularly to make sure that dancers are being paid fairly. But the good news is that change is already happening. Here are some of the most intriguing ideas you shared via comments, email and social media.”
Groups Press NPR To Release Investigative Report By Journalist Who Left In Harassment Scandal
“Peace Corps alumni and drug safety organizations are calling on NPR to immediately air an investigation by Daniel Zwerdling, a veteran reporter who left the network last month after facing sexual harassment allegations. The two-part report on the anti-malarial drug mefloquine had been scheduled to air in late November.”
Cooper Union Will Go Back To Free Tuition – Over Ten Years
“Cooper Union has a plan to gradually move back to free tuition for undergraduates over the next 10 years, reversing course from a controversial 2014 decision to start charging. Scholarships could begin increasing in two years … Costs to students will be bought down in increasing amounts over time as administrators find ways to pay for tuition by cutting costs and raising money.”
James Levine Sues Metropolitan Opera For Defamation And Breach Of Contract
Just three days after the company fired the conductor for “sexually abusive and harassing conduct,” Levine has filed a legal action for more than $5.8 million. “It was only upon learning that the allegations would be published in the press,” argues the filing, “that the Met and Gelb, cynically hijacking the good will of the #MeToo movement, brazenly seized on these allegations as a pretext to end a longstanding personal campaign to force Levine out of the Met and cease fulfilling its legally enforceable financial commitments to him.”
There’s Another New Banksy In NYC (This One Planned), And It’s In Support Of A Political Prisoner
“The anonymous British artist’s 70-foot-long mural was unveiled on Thursday, and it protests the imprisonment of the Turkish artist and journalist Zehra Dogan, who was sentenced last March for painting the destruction of a Turkish [Kurdish] town, with the country’s flag flying over rubble.”