With the amendment now in place, book importers and international publishers have to provide only book titles and author lists to the Ministry of Information, with the understanding that they bear legal responsibility if a book’s subject matter contravenes Kuwaiti law. Legal action against a particular book will now only be triggered by an official complaint from the public. – The National (UAE)
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Writer Gail Sheehy, 83
Gail Sheehy, a lively participant in New York’s literary scene and a practitioner of creative nonfiction, studied anthropology with Margaret Mead. She applied those skills to explore the cultural upheaval of the 1960s and ’70s and to gain psychological insights into the newsmakers she profiled — among them Hillary Clinton, Margaret Thatcher, Mikhail Gorbachev and both Presidents Bush. – The New York Times
Why Wearing A Mask Is A Matter Of Identity For Some
Someone’s social dignity can be damaged whether or not she accepts her society’s standards. One way this can happen is if she is a member of different social groups with conflicting standards. – The Conversation
Contemporary Dance In Indigenous Stories
Dancing Earth engages in Indigenous futurism — art that incorporates Indigenous perspectives of what the future could look like — by embodying interconnected communities and social change in the company’s story-like performances. In turn, the performances often function as both dance productions and contemporary rituals of transformation and healing for audience and dancers alike. – High Country News
Religious Justice Warriors Smash Up Statue Of Mary Magdalene Because It Is A Nude
“A statue of Mary Magdalene housed in the chapel of Saint Pilon in the Var, in southeast France, has been destroyed by vandals apparently unhappy with her lack of clothing. The perpetrators left a note at the scene saying they ‘did not accept that a great saint like Mary Magdalene [should] be represented in such a way’.” – The Art Newspaper
Could Open Source Help Hollywood With Diversity?
Some of the people who make visual effects for Hollywood’s biggest blockbusters believe they have found a way to help: By embracing open source, they want to open up doors for traditionally underrepresented communities. – Protocol
The Underappreciated Brilliance Of Radio Sketch Comedy
Some of the most influential modern comedy in any medium was created for radio: “Who’s on First?“, Groucho Marx’s You Bet Your Life, The Jack Benny Program, BBC’s The Goon Show and I’m Sorry, I’ll Read That Again, The Firesign Theatre. And it has always been a fertile format for experimentation (because it’s cheap). Sam Corbin explores why audio sketch comedy lands like nothing else — and wonders why, in the podcast boom, we aren’t getting more of it. – Vulture
What Should A Museum Be In 2020?
Historically, museums have used themed exhibitions, acquisitions schemes, or public programs to signal a shift, but otherwise they continue with business as usual. Real shifts must be seen from the sidewalk to the boardroom. There is an urgent and long-standing need for long-term commitments to diverse hiring and executive leadership, divestment from the police, accessibility, and a zero-tolerance policy for racism from staff or visitors. – Vanity Fair
Kindness With A Capital K: Why Ellen Is So Vulnerable To Her Current Scandal, And Why She Had To Be That Way
Spencer Kornhaber: “So-called diva antics never canceled the careers of, say, Christian Bale or Aretha Franklin. Yet DeGeneres may well be held to a different standard than other entertainers — because her product is her own persona, because she has centered that persona around niceness, and because the same cultural forces that led her to create that persona still exist today. To look back over her career now is to wonder whether the secret, bitter ingredient in her success has been revealed. Softness has long been her shield — and this scandal, on some level, shows what it was protecting against.” – The Atlantic
Italy Bans Public Dancing
As in other countries around the world, new cases in Italy are being driven by young people, with several clusters traced back to nightclubs crowded with maskless patrons. Yet the new rules aimed at stopping young people from gathering en masse have also swept up older Italians for whom an evening at the dance hall is a cherished part of life. – The New York Times