“The same drive to succeed that make so many ballet students great may also predispose them to depression. And yet, as a dance writer, when I call up so many of the great training institutions in this country to ask for an interview with the psychologist they refer their dancers to, they can’t produce one.”
Blog
It Is A Truth Universally Acknowledged, That Jane Austen’s Most Famous Sentence Is Perfect For Riffing On
Geoff Nunberg: “If you’re looking to add a literary touch to your article on pension schemes or emergency contraceptives, you’re not going to get very far with ‘Call me Ishmael.’ But ‘It is a truth universally acknowledged’ is always available as an elegant replacement for ‘As everybody knows’ when you want to introduce some banal truism.”
A Cancelled Memorial In Norway Speaks To The Fraught Nature Of Memorials
“All public memorials are vulnerable to disrespect—by pigeons on statues, wherever there’s a statue, and by selfie-snapping yahoos, everywhere. But that’s a reality of living in a teeming world. Monuments aren’t churches. The most affecting ones enable, but don’t seek to impose, fitting emotional responses.”
Want To Stay Psychologically Healthy? Don’t Fight The Dark Stuff
“In a cultural age that’s decidedly pro-positivity, the pressure to suppress or camouflage negative feelings is real. However, psychological studies have shown that acceptance of those negative emotions is the more reliable route to regaining and maintaining peace of mind. … Acceptance of one’s dark emotions is now backed by a body of evidence connecting the habit to better emotional resilience, and fewer symptoms of depression and anxiety.”
Jerry Saltz: The Art World Needs A Shakeup
“I love the art world; great art is getting made and shown. Art will live, as always. But we all have to admit that the art world isn’t the definition of radical right now. There’s still too much inbred art about itself or otherwise so specialized that it takes reams of explaining in almost unreadable texts just to say why it’s relevant at all — and those things that might feel relevant, or radical, in another context often get so buffered and wrapped in the wealth of the system — fancy museums, big biennials — that they cease to offer anything truly new-seeming.”
‘In Search Of Fear’ – Philippe Petit On Being A High-Wire Artist
“I am never afraid on the wire. I am too busy. But … sometimes the sky grows dark around the wire, the wind rises, the cable gets cold, the audience becomes worried. At those moments I hear fear screaming at me. To imagine that one evening I will have to give up the wire, that I will have to say, ‘I was afraid, I met Holy Fear, it invaded me and sucked my blood’ – I, the fragile walker of wires, the tiniest of men, will turn away to hide my tears – and yes, how afraid I am.”
Why Shouldn’t Small Museums Be Able To Sell Art To Finance Their Survival?
“It’s an ideologically pure, dependably crowd-pleasing position to take. Its naiveté also makes me want to start throwing large objects long distances out high windows.”
HBO Confirms It Was Hacked; Hackers Say They’re Posting Unseen Shows To The Web
Hackers claimed to have obtained 1.5 terabytes of data from the company. So far, an upcoming episode of Ballers and Room 104 have apparently been put online. There is also written material that’s allegedly from next week’s fourth episode of Game of Thrones. More is promised to be “coming soon.”
The 150 Greatest Albums Made By Women (Since 1964)
“This list, of the greatest albums made by women between 1964 and the present, is an intervention, a remedy, a correction of the historical record and hopefully the start of a new conversation. Compiled by nearly 50 women from across NPR and the public radio system and produced in partnership with Lincoln Center, it rethinks popular music to put women at the center.”
Revising The Canon Of Pop Music To Put Women At Its Center (Why We Made A List Of The 150 Greatest Albums By Women)
Ann Powers: “I’m officially tired of writing about music that recognizes women when gender is the topic, but when music itself is the topic, almost always returns its focus to men. Talking about this problem with Jill [Sternheimer of Lincoln Center] and then with several of my colleagues at NPR, I began to wonder if focusing on what women have done in music, instead of constantly remarking that wow, they exist, might be a way to begin correcting this pattern.”