“Baseball is the most philosophical of games because, like philosophy at its best, it harmonizes meaning with meticulous analysis. There is no opposition between wonder at the double play, the home run, or the perfect game and the statistical dissection now known as “sabermetrics” (after SABR, the Society for American Baseball Research). In fact, it is the arithmetic and geometry of the game that best disclose its truth. The highest aspiration of philosophy is to be both rigorous and humanistic, to place analytical thought in the service of human values. Baseball shows us that it can be done.”
Blog
The Harvey Weinstein Scandal Is A Plot To Discredit Trump, Says Russian Media – Or A Plot By Trump To Discredit Democrats
Masha Gessen reports on what sounds to American ears like a bizarre conspiracy theory put out on state television by the head of RT, and she explains how and why that theory could make sense to Russians.
Here’s How One City Intends To Integrate The Arts Into Everything It Does
By 2027, the city aims to make “culturally-inspired lifelong learning” available for every person in Nottingham, and establish cultural programmes, research and partnerships that enhance health and wellbeing.
Can Tina Fey Make Over ‘Mean Girls’ Into A Hit Musical?
She’s been working with composer Jeff Richmond (her husband), lyricist Nell Benjamin (Legally Blonde: The Musical), and director/choreographer Casey Nicholaw (Spamalot, The Book of Mormon), and the result begins its D.C. tryout next week, with the Broadway opening planned for next spring. Peter Marks looks in on a rehearsal.
How Video Games Devour The People Who Create Them
“Among video game developers, it’s called ‘crunch’: a sudden spike in work hours, as many as 20 a day, that can last for days or weeks on end. During this time, they sleep at work, limit bathroom breaks and cut out anything that pulls their attention away from their screens, including family and even food. Crunch makes the industry roll – but it’s taking a serious toll on its workers.”
Hey, Weren’t We Supposed To Have Some New J.D. Salinger Books By Now?
After the notoriously publicity-shy author died in 2010, it was reported that, over all the years since his last published work (a 1965 short story), he never stopped writing. Indeed, a 2013 documentary alleged that Salinger had left detailed instructions about publishing some of those writings posthumously. Asked about this by a reporter, son Matthew Salinger replied, “Yeah, what came of those?” So the reporter checked in with the documentarian.
Sony Has Released All The Outtakes From Glenn Gould’s 1955 ‘Goldberg Variations’. Would Gould Be Horrified?
Says Howard Scott, who produced the original recording, “If Glenn knew Sony Classical was going to release those outtakes, which he rejected – he did not like what he had done in those performances – he would probably come down and shoot anybody who allowed them to be released.” (Sony included this quote in the coffee-table book accompanying the new release.) Gould’s longtime friend Tim Page isn’t convinced.
Someone Left A Noose In The Met Opera’s Locker Room
“[An] orchestra musician found the noose hanging from a pipe [in the men’s musicians’ locker room] at about 7:30 p.m. Saturday – just before the opera’s performance of Turnadot was set to begin. … Police are trying to determine if it was meant to intimidate or target blacks or anyone in particular, cop sources said.”
What The Hell Is Going On At American National Ballet? Here’s What We Know So Far
The news broke yesterday that the fledgling company, announced with fanfare earlier this year with an emphasis on diversity of backgrounds and body types – had fired nearly two dozen dancers and had seen yet more resignations, including of its marquee star. Jennifer Stahl and Amy Brandt talk to ANB’s executive director as well as current and former dancers – and piece together a tale of changed management, a changed vision, and a hush-hush impending merger with another company.
Barry Diller’s On-Again, Off-Again Floating Park And Arts Center Is Back On Again
“Just six weeks after billionaire Barry Diller scrapped plans to build a 2.7-acre floating park on the Hudson River, Governor Andrew Cuomo has swooped in and saved the project. The governor said in a statement Wednesday that he’s brokered a compromise between the Hudson River Park Trust, which was overseeing the $250 million project, and the City Club of New York, its main opposition, which was reportedly bankrolled by Diller’s fellow billionaire Douglas Durst.