The past six hundred million years have been mostly a span of relentless heat, during which plants and then animals first climbed up and colonized Earth’s great, empty landmasses. Extreme heat was the backdrop for the rise and fall of the dinosaurs, and equally the setting for the subsequent ascendance of mammals. The heat reached its greatest extremes some fifty million years ago, with carbon-dioxide levels nearing 2,000 ppm (versus ~414 ppm today) around the time when our tiny, early primate ancestors were just starting to spread and diversify through the world’s forest canopies. Those early primates arose in the heat, adapted for the heat; but Earth continued to change, and the climatic conditions that gave rise to Homo sapiens would be very different. – 3 Quarks Daily
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What Animals Have To Say
Humans have spent decades trying to teach other animals our languages—sometimes for convenience or amusement, sometimes out of scientific curiosity—but we’ve made little effort to learn theirs. Today, as a virus from another species upends human society, the usefulness of communicating with animals on their own terms is suddenly more imaginable. – New York Review of Books
The Radical Favors Of Dave Brubeck
Before Miles Davis went electric and Ornette Coleman bloomed, Brubeck was the surest name to start an argument. A cynical section of the jazz audience perceived his experimental nature as a search for a catchy idiom that might eventually bring him the triumph of a hit. And of course, this line of argument claimed a win when “Take Five” propelled the world onto the dance floor in 5/4 time. – Times Literary Supplement
How You Translate The Madcap Edinburgh Fringe Online
The festival’s cancellation has been a big blow to long-term fans — and to the 30,000 performers who travel to the Scottish city each August to show their work. To fill the gap, some artists have gone online to try to capture the anarchic, diverse and somewhat overwhelming experience of being at the Fringe. – The New York Times
Survival: Hibernate Or Adapt?
Amid this backdrop, what are the options available to arts venues, upon which so much of the industry relies, when they find traditional spaces not fit for purpose within social distancing guidelines? Will hibernation or adaptation be the best long-term survival strategy? – Toks Dada
Giant Outdoor Mass Art Productions Aren’t That Risky And Shouldn’t Be Banned
Or so says the director of an arts production company in the UK. “It’s a brave new world out there, and we’re all going to have to adapt. There are no limits to what our artists, technicians, actors, creators, musicians, dancers and designers can imagine to bring back live outdoor experiences for audiences stupefied by the isolation of the omnipresent screen.” – The Guardian (UK)
Now Is The Textbook’s Time To Shine
Remote learning isn’t all about what articles and resources teachers can cobble together from the internet – especially when a lot of students can only get online occasionally, or in the parking lot or on the steps at the public library. “A good textbook is clear, appealing, and organized in a predictable way. It’s not just paragraphs of text, but it also includes extratextual features such as reference materials, answer keys, sidebars, and key terms to aid students in their comprehension.” Now to update the racist ones … – Slate
University Of Oregon Library Says It Will Cover ‘Oppressive’ Murals
The murals were, as one versed in the history of white supremacist rhetoric in the U.S. might guess, created in the 1930s. In one, “Development of the Sciences by artist Albert C. Runquist, white researchers are on the top level, while Indigenous people are on the bottom, using basic stone tools.” Another refers to white people “preserving our racial heritage.” – KLCC (Oregon)
Alan Alda’s Hawkeye Is A Flawed Hero With Something To Teach Us Now
In 2020, some things to remember about M.A.S.H., and especially Hawkeye: “Hawkeye taught us that when your world is disintegrating, it is not only possible but utterly necessary to crack a joke — to create a counterpoint to what would otherwise be overwhelming. In his oscillations between laughter and gut-wrenching anguish, I recognized a shadow version of myself.” – Los Angeles Times
A Classical Music Host Says Music Is Keeping Her Alive After Emergency Brain Surgery
Clemency Burton-Hill works as the creative director at WQXR, New York’s classical station, and has been a BBC presenter, including a lot of Proms coverage. In early 2020, she had a massive brain hemorrhage and emergency surgery. As she regained consciousness, she heard a familiar piece and, she says, made some internal choices. “Music is the opposite of despair. It was going to be worth the fight.” – BBC