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Why Black English Is America’s Most Important Dialect

“All along, while standard American English was busy convincing everyone that it was a superior dialect, it’s Black English that’s been a true cultural and linguistic force in contemporary society. Standard English is in fact deeply indebted to this so-called impoverished speech. It’s Black English that has left its mark on the popular culture we participate in, sliding seamlessly into the language of art, music, poetry, storytelling, and social media. Perhaps no other variety of speech has been quite so significant, innovative, and influential to the development of standard American English.” – JSTOR Daily

How A Theatre Powered The Downtown Revival Of Illinois’s Second-Largest City

That city is Aurora, an outer-ring suburb of Chicago with about 200,000 people, and the theatre is the twice-restored, 1,885-seat Paramount. in fact, writes Chris Jones, “with the exception of Cleveland, which has benefited immeasurably from the Playhouse Square Center, I’d argue that no Midwestern downtown has been more changed by a single arts organization.” – Chicago Tribune

Artist (And Scrotum-Nailing, Bank-Burning Refugee) Pyotr Pavlensky Arrested For Leaking Sexts Of Paris Mayoral Candidate

When the ever-provocative protest artist put online sexual images and messages sent to a woman by former Macron aide Benjamin Griveaux, thus driving him from the race for mayor of Paris, Pavlensky was violating France’s revenge-porn law, which carries penalties of up to two years in prison and a €60,000 fine. Pavlensky, who is in France on political asylum from his native Russia, and his girlfriend (the alleged recipient of Griveaux’s sexts) are being held by police. – Deutsche Welle

15,000-Year-Old Wall Carvings Found In Spanish Cave

“Experts have discovered a cave full of prehistoric carvings in northern Spain. Among the hundreds of rock carvings, some believed to be 15,000 years old, are vivid depictions of horses, deer, and bulls, as well as a wealth of mysterious and abstract symbols. Unlike the famous prehistoric paintings at Altamira in northern Spain, the recently discovered cave art in Catalonia is carved directly into the soft surface of the rock.” – Artnet

Raphael’s Sistine Chapel Tapestries Displayed There For First Time In 500 Years

“All 12 tapestries designed by Raphael have been hung on the lower walls of the Sistine Chapel as part of celebrations marking the 500th anniversary of the artist’s death. … All 12, made with silk, wool and gold and silver thread, have been painstakingly restored by Vatican Museum conservationists in the last 10 years.” – Reuters

Reinbert de Leeuw, Champion Of Contemporary Classical Music, Dead At 81

A conductor, pianist and composer who became the Netherlands’, and one of Europe’s, leading specialists in new classical music, de Leeuw founded what is now the Asko | Schönberg ensemble in 1974, recorded a landmark LP set of Satie’s piano works, had a remarkable late-life artistic partnership with soprano Barbara Hannigan, and worked closely with composers from Ligeti and Kurtág to Ustvolskaya and Knussen and, above all, Louis Andriessen. – Presto Classical

Ballet Philippines Appoints Foreign Artistic Director; People Flip Out

As the company’s founding artistic director, Alice Reyes, retires after 50 years, its board of directors selected as her successor Mikhail Martynyuk, a star of the Kremlin Ballet in Moscow. Many of the dancers and other members of Manila’s dance community are objecting to the appointment; they say they’re upset about a rushed timeline and lack of consultation, but the petition now circulating calls on the board “to rescind or revise the contract offered to a Russian artist … and to keep the position of Artistic Director Filipino.” – BusinessWorld (Manila)

In Praise Of Wikipedia And What It’s Become

Today, Wikipedia is the eighth-most-visited site in the world. The English-language version recently surpassed 6 million articles and 3.5 billion words; edits materialize at a rate of 1.8 per second. But perhaps more remarkable than Wikipedia’s success is how little its reputation has changed. It was criticized as it rose, and now makes its final ascent to … muted criticism. – Wired

Six Cooper Hewitt Boardmembers Resign Over Director’s Forced Resignation

Caroline Baumann was forced to resign on Feb. 7 after an investigation by the Smithsonian’s inspector general into how Ms. Baumann procured her dress and the venue for the ceremony. It was unclear whether there were additional allegations.According to two people familiar with the Smithsonian’s decision-making, the inspector general found the appearance of a conflict of interest, but several board members said they believed the punishment was unwarranted. – The New York Times